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Poetry
A space for poems, spoken pieces, and collections shaped by pressure, memory, fracture, and feeling.
Browse by collection, spoken work, theme, or recency.
A reflective poem of desperately, need, and top, exploring change, memory and inner weather.
A reflective poem of ignoring, simply, and trying, exploring change, memory and inner weather.
A dark poem of zealots, rage, and sermons, holding fear, fracture and survival in view.
A satirical poem of cat, yes, and elite, pressing wit, absurdity and refusal against the world.
A satirical poem of sure, sniper, and stats, pressing wit, absurdity and refusal against the world.
A satirical poem of life, gets, and murky, pressing wit, absurdity and refusal against the world.
A satirical poem of signal, botanical, and crash, pressing wit, absurdity and refusal against the world.
A satirical poem of house, shouts, and hall, pressing wit, absurdity and refusal against the world.
A dark poem of fluorescents, fizz, and circle, holding fear, fracture and survival in view.
A dark poem of set, off, and swagger first, holding fear, fracture and survival in view.
A dark poem of isn, strange, and how, holding fear, fracture and survival in view.
A dark poem of let, yourself, and unravel, holding fear, fracture and survival in view.
A satirical poem of excuse, sir, and grins, pressing wit, absurdity and refusal against the world.
A ferry crossing holds two people at the distance between a sleeve and a hand, ending at the pier without explaining the release.
A cleaner sees her mouth break across chrome, wipes away the reflection and deliberately leaves a thumbprint after closing.
A tired worker receives the language of software updates as their body deteriorates, then leaves the laptop waiting through the morning.
A missed bus and a wet coat become a night journey held by a direct question, waiting headlights and a porch bulb warm in the morning.
Root System examines a root opening a plaster wall over time, where a loosened socket and a green point make the breach physical.
A heart-like device continues its test after a crack opens and no needle or alarm responds.
A laundrette, blue shirts and a blood orange open a conversation about a room that does not exist and the hands left in glass.
At a self-service till, a lemon, a Help button and a cashier expose the gap between selling self-sufficiency and receiving ordinary help.
Poetry themes
Each stream gathers poems by mood, music, pressure, and the kind of attention the piece asks for.
Poems that walk the fault lines: grief, rupture, war, urban grit, and the mythic underbelly of the everyday. Expect charged images, stark music, and hard turns that don’t tidy the mess so much as name it.
Editor’s picks and special spotlights: the poems, sequences, and craft notes we think deserve your front-row gaze. Rotating highlights, seasonal themes, and one-off gems that show the range of our community.
Where verse meets melody. Poems arranged as songs, chants, and soundscapes—complete with audio players, lyric sheets, and credits for collaborators. Expect live takes, studio mixes, and experiments that let the poem sing in new registers.
Field notes of the inner and outer world: weather, seasons, land, and the quiet revolutions of thought. Lyrical attention, ecological awareness, and a contemplative pace define this stream.
Wit with teeth. Irony, parody, and mischief aimed at power, pretence, and the status quo. Formal play and punchy line breaks welcome; the laugh should leave a bruise.
Work of resilience and renewal: poems about survival, kinship, faith (in any form), and the long arc of becoming. Clear cadence, steady light, and endings that open rather than preach.
Dream-logic, fabulism, and mythic visitations. Reality bends, symbols speak, and images carry more than one meaning. The goal is wonder and unease in equal measure.
Poetry in isiZulu, alongside careful translations where offered. A home for imagery, izibongo (praise poetry), and contemporary voices that carry rhythm and story. Submissions may appear bilingual to welcome wider readers.
56 entries across poetry.
6 entries across poetry.
7 entries across poetry.
13 entries across poetry.
5 entries across poetry.
255 entries across poetry.
Poetry began here as play with words, fragments, and unlikely connections. Over time it became a record of feeling, then a way of making sense without forcing neat explanations too early.
Some pieces are more instinctive. Some are more controlled. None of them are interested in pretending the human experience arrives tidy.
These poems are not written to hand over a single fixed meaning. They are written to hold image, pressure, contradiction, and the parts of experience that resist summary.
Read them slowly or read them in a rush. Read them in sequence if you want to notice how the voice shifts over time. Read them out of order if you want the cleaner shock of recognition.
If a poem leaves you with a clearer feeling rather than a cleaner answer, it has done its job.
Some poems also live in voice.
Where a spoken version exists, it should feel like an extension of the page rather than a separate performance layer. The voice is there to carry the pressure of the line, not distract from it.
Collections gather poems by atmosphere, season, pressure, or recurring thread.
Enter a collection when you want a more sustained mood than the main archive offers, or when you want to stay with a particular register a little longer.