In Autumn

trust descending, I wriggle
beneath the radiation

behind a star intersected
by the earth

truth will disfigure the walls,
wipe out dishonour

with atomic hypotheses
from their eyes

through the labyrinth
despair, sparkling pure,

clutches vapours
delights my blood

don’t name the day
of my anxiety

their pleasant world
remained unchanged

Source Texts:
Victory Unintentional by Isaac Asimov (in The Complete Robot)
Things Behind the Sun by Nick Drake (from the album Pink Moon)
The Burrow by Franz Kafka (in Metamorphosis and Other Stories)

Cacophony

The humble dreamer, wounded unto death
by elves of a malicious disposition, knew
there was wizardry in it, but did not fear.

She came in through a knot-hole in the wall
in the small village where I was born, sunbeams
bursting through the gloom of the forest

like the songs of Bohemia – I have heard
them singing their fairy songs. Go, and beware:
dance into the next country, the train will soon

be leaving. Memory-fragments cling to me
like a madman, this dizziness resulting in nausea,
thrown off the rails. Don’t try to understand.

Source Texts:
Modern Man in Search of a Soul (Chapter I: Dream-Analysis in its Practical Application) by CG Jung
The Forest in Folklore and Mythology (Chapter V: Mythical Denizens) by Alexander Porteous

Kate Garrett writes poetry and flash fiction, and edits other people’s poetry and flash fiction. In real life she lives in Sheffield, England, and lives here on the web: www.kategarrettwrites.co.uk