ZOE DAVIS

XL

i am that soft rebel

at forty

my teenage self would have cheered for

secretly

in the pages of her diary

i really like her hair

streaked in an inappropriate way

for school

but i work with robots now

and that’s not a metaphor

my friends are cool

because i chose them

not the other way round

& sometimes

i eat nutella

straight from the jar

without a spoon

when I see you’ve posted those cryptic emojis again

I know

you do not crave attention

you mewl for it

like the errant girl who’s got the gold top

tip top

cream of the crop place by the hearth

smug bones unchallenged

twisted

you ensnare your friends

not

add them

to the porridge pot

fear of what you’ve said

behind closed doors

vulnerability disguised

like a hammer in a hanky

Goldilocksing that empty bungalow

leaving sticky pawprints

but nothing explicit

forcing others to ask

You okay, hon? DM me.

Zoe Davis is an emerging writer from Sheffield, England. A Quality Engineer in Advanced Manufacturing by day, she spends evenings and weekends writing poetry and prose but especially enjoys exploring the interaction between the fantastical and the mundane. When she's not writing, Zoe likes to bake, crochet, and play para ice hockey- just not at the same time. You can also follow her on Twitter @MeanerHarker where she's always happy to have a virtual coffee and a chat.