As a kid, I wrote a lot of Poetry. It definitely had a capital P. You could tell it was Poetry because it rhymed. Pages and pages of falling meter, dactyls that bumped along regularly - I was very proud of that.

On reflection, I’m not sure I’d call it poetry.

Aged about 14, I wrote a poem that appeared in my school’s magazine. It was a sonnet on the topic of Autumn trees, and I think it was not appalling doggerel. I have not, you will note, checked. Somewhere in my parents’ house there will be a copy of that magazine, but I think I prefer to remain in blissful ignorance.

However! Today Issue 4 of the Briefly Write zine goes live. Briefly Write publish literary “micro treats” - very short poems and tiny stories. And Issue 4 contains (among many other excellent things) my poem Desire Lines.

It does not rhyme.

It does, however, reflect some of my feelings about the past year. In just six lines.

And Briefly Write have added a very exciting widget on their page, whereby you push a button and I will read my poem to you. I mean, it’s just a recording, I won’t show up at your house or anything.

I haven’t read all of the way through the issue, but the other “micro treats” that I’ve read so far have been excellent. I definitely recommend checking them out!