A cavity-nesting bird,
fist of trembling
sinew and feather,
thrumming.
Hollow-boned,
stitches stretched thin
to snapping.
Muscle sliced
and folded.
Beak drumming,
drumming,
its cadence skipping.
Fast-breath and bound.
Straining to fly.
ALEX PRINCE (she/her) is a queer poet and novelist with a long-term heart condition. She lives in Shropshire with her two children, across the river from her girlfriend. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from Sheffield Hallam University where she graduated with distinction in 2024. Her work has been published in Humana Obscura Magazine and in the anthologies Queer Responses to Dante’s Paradiso by Carrion Press, and It’s Not Symptomatic It’s Systemic by Sunday Mornings at the River Press. Through her writing she examines complicated relationship dynamics, identity, and the drama that happens ‘behind closed doors’. She is constantly writing poetry and is currently working on her first novel. You can find her work in progress and responses to prompts on Instagram @alexprincepoet.
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