“View from our window very early in the morning. I wanted to capture the scene before it changed into a more normal morning sky.“
Originally from Germany, Birte Hosken has been in the UK for over 30 years. During lockdown, she created artwork from items found on local Cornish beaches close to her home. She makes mainly wall hangings and driftwood candleholders. She has written two romantic novels set in Cornwall. www.birtehosken.wixsite.com/author
The Poem in Which I Am Not Sexually Assaulted After José Olivarez’s “Poem Where No One Is Deported”
Poetry by Anne Walters
CW: Sexual Assault, language, Risky Behavior & Violence
Two Cape Codders dive into my bloodstream instead of tequila shots-- I don’t drown in a sea of alcohol at the dim bar. I waltz the mile back to the beach house sand and gravel mixing under my flip-flop feet. I drift into dreams sun-drenched and warm under cotton sheets.
His hands don’t twist the corkscrew to give me glasses of red wine. His hands don’t anchor me to a storm I cannot weather. He doesn’t wolf whisper that he wants to fuck me, or leave cigarette burn marks on my brain. Instead-- he kisses his wife my cousin good night and we both dream of ocean currents releasing us to shore.
Anne Walters (they/them) is a queer non-binary writer who lives in New Jersey. They have been published in Midway Journal, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, Three Moon Magazine, among others. When not writing, they enjoy drinking too much coffee and hanging out with their cats. @_breakerfall(Instagram)