‘THESE LIVES WE SELL…’ – ADAM ZAK HAWLEY
‘…are cheaper than you’d expect,’ he chuckled, slamming his hand against a cold sarcophagus as if it were a used car. Upon entering the room, I saw a rusted plaque that read: COLD STORAGE. The kind you would find at the base of a tomb […]
MEADOW SONG – MARC BRIGHTSIDE
We took a day away from city life to drown / ourselves in protest. A winding trail by the old / mill gave us shelter down a Hampshire mile, / where the countryside hummed cricket songs / and damsels coupled in mid-flight at waterside, /
intoxicated by […]
MY ANCESTORS MUST HAVE BEEN BEASTS – HANNAH MELIN
When I dig into that cording in my gut that drags out in a twisting line across oceans and centuries, it seems impossible that I share a core with gentlefolk in layers of well-ironed wool […]
WILD FIRES – C. R. RESETARITS
HCE received a lot of high-quality submissions for The Green Issue – sadly, too many to fit inside the magazine! So we offered some shortlisted writers and artists the chance to be published here on the website. Keep an eye on our social media for more...
MIRACLE REQUIRED – NIGEL KENT
You answer the call / of the burning halo in the sky: / a summons to Our Lady’s side / where your lips let loose / a wave of urgent prayers / as if the swell of holy words / could douse the raging flames/ […]
FOUR SEASONS – ELLA WALSWORTH-BELL
They say the last stage of grief is acceptance – and I should be there by now. But as I stare down at my son Davy’s grave on this cold February afternoon, I’m not feeling it. Pain shoots through me as I notice […]
THE WANING SUN – HANNAH WILLIAMS
the yellow sun spans itself into a waning crescent/ and we are amused by its curvature/ if it could lower itself down to us/ we would extract […]
MY LITTLE SISTER – SCOTT ELDER
Before speaking I focus on emerald / only then she opens her eyes / my little sister speaks in green / the shades rear up subside […]
A GHOST’S ADVICE – PHILIP PALIOS
The church was three stones’ throws from my house, that’s what he said. I looked around my house but there was no church in sight. I walked further, but grew frustrated and wondered […]
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT – NICK KNIBB
Edward, as usual, did what he liked / and browbeat his spouse for all of her life. / “Waste not, want not,” he announced on Wednesday, / “Auntie Jane’s death will be eco-friendly. […]