Peach Pip - Issue Two

ED I T O R S N O T E Dear Peaches, Welcome to the second issue of Peach Pip! As usual, we would like to express our gratitude to all of you who contributed their lovely work for this smaller (but very loved) issue.

There has been nothing more fulfilling than witnessing PEACH continue flourish into the strong media outlet it has become this year.

We are so happy to have you all still here as we are nearing the end of this second semester.

The defining feature of Peach Pip is the lack of restrictions on theme.

When the time comes to look over your work after each submission window, we always appreciate how vulnerable and honest you all are with your art. Whether it be a heartfelt poem, some crotchet cuties, or a photo you decided to take to document a special moment - your submissions always manage to capture life in the utmost honesty of what can be contained within a feeling.

For this we would like to thank you for trusting us with your work and allowing us to see life and art through your eyes. Creating and curating these magazines has been the highlight of our year and we are not even close to being done yet. There is so much more to come!

Enjoy this one for now :-) All our love as always, Maya and Alexandra

PEACH Editor in Chief and Deputy Editor

C O N T EN T S des silhouettes - Shemona Safaya page 1 Rose - Atharva Deshpande page 2 Today is not Tomorrow - Muskaan Aleeza Admani page 3 Al Shamkha - Zehra page 4 Photograph - Zohaib Sajjad page 5 Hospitality - Yanisha Luckhea page 6 that valentine’s crap - Simrun Kaur-Rathore page 7 The World Is Happy Without Me - Salena Melodies page 8 Tough Love - Shemona Safaya pages 9 - 10 22.2.22 - Simrun Kaur-Rathore page 11

C O N T EN T S sky empty, no clouds & winter sun in lon - Simrun Kaur-Rathore page 12 Wardell & Axolotl - Alisha Isherwood pagess 13 -14 Failure - Muskaan Aleeza Admani page 15 -16 Photography - Zohaib Sajjad page 17 Have you Considered? - Alisha Isherwood page 18 Thoughts on Summer - Yanisha Luckhea page 19 Autumn - Emma MacPherson page 20 spiralling into colour - Alexandra Craveiro page 21 looming - Zehra page 22 One million suns - Abbie Harrison pages 23 -24

des silhouettes

by Shemona Safaya

1

Rose

by Atharva Deshpande (he/him) Oblivious to the rose seed, I named it after you.

And I would quench its thirst, water it every noon.

It has been two years since you said I shall see you soon.

You didn’t come baby, yet the rose blooms.

They told me roses were angels’ daughters, I saw and realized this was true.

It borrowed beauty from rainbows and sunset skies, and by its name, that’s you.

And now knowing that you will never come, The roses have become a garden that only exists in my poem.

2

Today is not Tomorrow

By Muskaan Aleeza Admani (she/her) content warning: depression Today I am crawling in my skin. This body cannot contain me.

The darkness consumes me. I am surging like the deluge left by the storms vicious sprees.

The world is leaden on my shoulders – Yet I am empty – Hollow – And I cannot help but feel like – I have no friend in the world that truly cares, No family in the world that truly loves – And this feeling hauls me down to the thought of six feet under.

Today I am misunderstood – Cold – Anxiety is a ravenous deity gnawing away at my rationality, Depression is a dementor grinning in the shadows, eager for a kiss.

Today I am lost.

Today I want life less than death.

But tomorrow – Maybe tomorrow will be different.

3

Al Shamkha

by Zehra (she/her)

4

Photograph

5

by Zohaib Sajjad (he/him)

Hospitality

by Yanisha Luckhea (she/her) I wade through hot water, For the earth has reached its boiling point.

She breathes fire, engulfing homes and destroying schools, For she is angry.

Surfing on a wave of greed, They exploited her, Took her hostage and stole her heart, Drilling deep into the muddy ground to find it.

Seeking their next fix of green, They ripped out her lungs And tossed them aside, Turning her emerald forests into desolate wastelands.

Riding on their petroleum high, They overtook her body, Trapping her limbs under cold, grey cement.

As we splutter and struggle to breathe Our lungs filling with water And throats lined with smoke She reminds us that we are her guests, And have not respected her hospitality.

6

that valentine’s crap

by Simrun Kaur-Rathore (@simkrathore, she/her) roses are red violets aren’t blue enough with the soppy stuff doesn’t it all repulse you? commercialised love stacked on shelves feels like a gimmick a greedy business ruse.

Hear me out, there’s 365 days! so many, types of love but a hole too many, in the concept of ‘vday’ allegedly from a holy saint?! remind me to check on the 15th of Feb if everyone’s still romantic and their partner is still ‘hot’ I’ll pop to the shop hello discount chocolate I’m happy to reap the benefits Absolutely no loss

7

The World Is Happy Without Me

by Salena Melodies (she/her)

Is this depression Or a realisation of what life really is?

There’s roses outside But thorns inside There’s clouds in the sky But it only rains from my eyes The trees grow But my heart sinks further Is happiness only an exterior quality?

Why can’t I ever find it in myself?

Illustration by Salena Melodies (she/her)

8

Tough Love

by Shemona Safaya Content Warning: abuse and violence It amazes me how the sky goes from azure to violet in seconds.

The winds, they seem to be in a rush, too while the clouds dance to its tunes, like madmen around wildfire.

No control and yet there is a pattern to everything in life.

9

Reminds me of your fickleness.

Your kind hands affectionately stroking my nape one moment and choking me the next.

I asphyxiate, clench the seams of my dress.

You smile.

The copy of Carver’s book lying exactly where we last left it.

You read the lines aloud with a sly, inescapable smirk: “but tough love is still love.”

10

22.2.22

by Simrun Kaur-Rathore (@simkrathore, she/her) Sick to my stomach gripped by nerves but there’s no other way we have to have a date, and it has to be today I know, we could wait but, there’s no alternative auspicious date like today we missed the 14th of Feb it’s fine. there is, leftover love in the air luckily leftovers aren’t needed. you set sights on me like I’m the next best thing after air you edge closer fingers exploring mine shaky and cold warmed by your air; now I’m charmed by your air of confidence, a flare of desire, your touch on my face.

Tuesday is for choosing, and I’m glad we chose this Tues next year we won’t miss valentine’s day but the 22nd of February can be our second 14th

11

sky empty, no clouds & winter sun in lon

by Simrun Kaur-Rathore (@simkrathore, she/her)

12

sky empty, no clouds & winter sun in lon

by Simrun Kaur-Rathore (@simkrathore, she/her)

Wardell

by Alisha Isherwood (@tinyplanet.crochet, she/they)

13

Axolotl

by Alisha Isherwood (@tinyplanet.crochet, she/they)

14

Failure

by Muskaan Aleeza Admani (she/her) Content warning: depression Too often I awake in the morning And even before I can draw the curtains from the windows I feel as though I have f a i l e d.

And you question: How can I feel like a failure when I have barely left my bed?

How can I feel like a failure when I am still drifting along my stream of words unsaid?

How can I feel like a failure before I have done a single thing worthy of being labelled fail?

Please know that too often this life is a war Every day is a battle And in every battle, f i g h t i n g looks a little different for me.

Sometimes, failure doesn’t require action – It simply desires a thought that has misbehaved in the bustle of my mind and triggered a cascade of bullets – Awakening every insecurity that prevails within my veins; A reminder of how flawed I can be.

My mind – is of course – unimpressed And so a failure I see.

I hate to reduce this rumination to a hypothetical construct in my mind And fuel the stigma behind It’s all in your head Because it is so much more than that.

Perhaps the source stems from my head But soon enough it perforates through my existence Like a cancer so complex it is unworthy of an antidote So people cold-shoulder And move on to something more lucid And so I have failed.

15

But I have come to realise these thoughts so heavy Don’t necessarily mean I am unsteady Because even the biggest fail Beats the hell out of never trying.

So perhaps If I could somehow t r y to share What it is like To live in my mind When it is a black hole Both inert and volatile I will shift one step closer To breathing a little easier.

Perhaps If I could somehow make you understand Why I feel like a failure Before the sun has reached its apex And I have yet to let the rest of the day unfold, Your belief in me Might loosen the chains imprisoning my mind And someday set me f r e e.

Don’t fuel the stigma. Fuel the understanding.

16

Photography

by Zohaib Sajjad (he/him)

17

Have you Considered?

by Alisha Isherwood (she/they) first rainbows of the season, sunbeams gloss my walls; they don’t come from rain but from valour raging red from my feet.

And I hope you realise the significance of the dirty jar gathering dust on the floor a low-class trophy to how you got me out of bed to smell the world again.

Similar in a way that comforts me, you face me with my differences and I feel softer for it.

An embrace of quirks, separations you love it as your own.

It could never be theft, nor dilution, have you considered I’m happy now, and I love you.

You’ve lived in my hair for years and now you’re detangled, tupperware claws and a space to store all of... it, I knew there was a reason I was carrying this lid.

there’s mud under my nails and wrinkles on my toes, nettled stung skin, fingers red raw; all forming a warmth in my stomach that I couldn’t gain any other way.

18

Thoughts on Summer

by Yanisha Luckhea

The sky is blue Without a cloud in sight A reminder that summer is drawing closer And days will be filled with light And as the sun shines I am reminded that my degree is coming to an end It fills my head with clouds But I think of all my lovely friends We may have been separated for a year I learnt peoples faces through digital screens We moved into adulthood in the midst of isolation But as we emerge from the fog we are no longer teens Our degree may have been tumultuous Filled with doubt and uncertainty But as it comes to a close I am glad I chose this university.

19

Autumn

by Emma MacPherson (she/her) Warmth all over “Un je ne sais quoi” Chimney fire, evermore Cloaked, cocoon of spirit Fuzzy haunting feelings Unquenchable urges Lightning strikes Fulfilled fantasy Scarce, Mystifying.

Comforting lunacy Soothing soulfulness Autumnal equinox

20

spiralling into colour

21

by Alexandra Craveiro (she/her)

looming

by Zehra (she/her)

22

One million suns

by Abbie Harrison (she/her) An endless pile of shopping lists A house crawling with mould A window that doesn’t really shut properly The fridge doesn’t really open either It should be unpleasant It should feel as frosty as the rooms, It should be bloody awful Yet somehow it feels like home Change is a scary thing, New home, New identity Thank you for being an anchor Yet as an anchor is heavy, this is light Easy-breezy if you will It feels like: Soft, slightly dewy grass sneaking their way like vines Through your toes Soft on the feet Silky serendipity A slight breeze caressing your face Sunlight sinks into your skin It feels like the velvety carpet of the night sky A thousand tiny stars poke through The light threatens to spill over An amber river of warmth sneaking through dark spots

23

It’s in the coming home, Taking off some chunky shoes Whacking some pyjamas on, Brewing a cup of tea It’s in the sitting in filth Scraping it through your hands Slipping through stained fingers Slapping into piles of shrubs It’s the conversations Considering life and death And everything in between Interrupted by a chuckle A clink of a glass A funky little silly dance It’s in the dark times Where I can see the light It’s in the cheesy little analogies It’s in a friendship Its a million suns It’s in the platonic love One with no expectations But yet with all the endearment One million suns.

24

A C K N O W LED G M EN T S Thank you to the peachiest of teams for making the second issue of PEACH Magazine’s Peach Pip possible!

Editor in Chief Maya Barter Deputy Editor Alexandra Craveiro Assistant Editor Emma Inez MacPherson Event Producers Tali Stowell & Anthony Crittenden Workshop Leaders Alisha Isherwood & Abbie Harrison Social Media Managers Shwetha Mahendran & Laila Ali Welfare Officer Zo Sajjad Secretary Yanisha Luckhea A special thank you to Esin Aynal for creating our gorgeous cover of this issue of Peach Pip. All uncredited illustrations by Maya Barter.