Night from Živogošće by Rachel Baxter (Lucent Dreaming Issue 8)

Cracked black velvet backs rise
From glistening gold indigo shores.
Piercing the veil, bright blinking pinheads
Cast anti shadows into the depth.
Downy white across the deep V
Hides the light then gone, bright.
Serpents, slight, barely visible,
Zig then zag, high then low.
Glowing mites move back and forth
Then give in to the yielding edge.
The distance far and inky, but palpable,
A heavy, warm, breathable soft.

Rachel Baxter, Londoner, previously unpublished. Inspired by sound and vision. I saw John Hegley perform when I was 12, loved poetry ever since. When not writing I can be found trying my hand at upholstery, rock ‘n’ roll and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

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Lucent Dreaming is an independent creative writing magazine publishing beautiful, imaginative and surreal short stories, poetry and artwork from emerging authors and artists worldwide. Our aim is to encourage creativity and to help writers reach publication! Subscribe to Lucent Dreaming now, support us on Patreon and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Meadowsweet by Hannah Durham (Lucent Dreaming Issue 9)

“Now, he notices only my absence, the things I have not done: a thin layer of dust in the hallway, an unprepared meal in the pantry. I’ve started abandoning tasks just to see if he notices, the calculated neglect like a beam from a distant lighthouse.”

seven disney princesses fall headlong into a new tale by Timi Sanni (Lucent Dreaming Issue 9)

here, a big-footed cinderella wears leathersandals in place of glass slippers, sword-in-hand, she walks into the arena to fighta tournament —this ball begets only thedance