S h o r t S t o r i e s / F l a s h F i c t i o n / Po e t r y
PO PSH OT QUARTERLY THE ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE OF NEW WRITING
Poetry by Shagufta K. Iqbal inside
THE PROTEST ISSUE Issue 30 - Winter 2020
“I have crossed an ocean I have lost my tongue from the root of the old one a new one has sprung.” – G race N i c h o l s, T h e Fa t B l ack Wo m a n 's Po e m s
P ROTE S T | Illu stration by Naomi Ann Clarke
EAT THE FOX Fla sh fic tion by Har r y Wilding Illu stration by Where I Draw
The fox. Chased. Ripped apart. Killed. Unrecognisable to the living animal it so recently was. Disgusting! I rip open the plastic packaging and remove the raw steak. Those poshos, doing something so ridiculous and barbaric just because it was what their parents and ancestors did before them. Morons! I rub the steak with oil. Add salt and pepper. Pop it in the oven. My gran’s method; it makes me think of my childhood. And for what? Some fleeting pleasure? Horrible! I am excited. My knife cuts into the meat, juices flow. Succulent. Bloody lovely. I smile. I chew. I eat.
8
9
SIDE WALK CHALK Poem by Lyn Patterson Illu stration by Jar red Br iggs
All summer long little ones write messages of optimism in chalk, to decorate the sidewalks But, no one in Jingletown writes about black bodies and the concrete is so very silent for black lives unless our silhouettes paint the pavement with white outlines
10
11
I’ M GRADUALLY STEALING ALL THE PENS FROM RUPERT’ S DESK Poem by Jesse Little Illu stration by Nell McKeon
I’m gradually stealing all the pens from Rupert’s desk. It’s my largely unacknowledged form of silent protest. So as my cheeks redden to loud jokes at my expense, my mind can drift away to this quiet recompense. The giggles of our colleagues cost him books of Post-it Notes. And each whisper in the kitchen means missing envelopes. So he can act the big man while his sycophants look on. Then rifle through his drawers thinking “where’s my Tipp-Ex gone?” See, I may not have his quick-fire wit; his knack for ridicule. But what I do have is his stapler, And I’ll take his hole punch too. And even though each item takes just moments to replace, I love to watch the beaten look on his stupid fucking face.
26
27