Rainforest Cafe Proverb by Charlotte Knight (Lucent Dreaming Issue 9)

baba yaga kicks at our tree trunk table for two, which lets
out a hollow, plastic sound. artifice! she hisses. we are
being scammed, moya kroshka! the animatronic elephant
behind us lifts its trunk in protest. baba yaga leaves the
table and begins to examine other animals. she strokes
an oversized frog, flicks its red, glass eyes. she pulls at a
butterfly’s robotic wings. baba yaga, i plead, you need to
sit down. she shakes her head, as if to say this cannot be!
the lights flicker off and thunder moves throughout the
restaurant via a dated sound system. diners around us
whoop in excitement. i look to baba yaga, see how her
eyes glow in the dark, how they narrow. i hear her
whispering as the door to the restaurant flings open, and
in swoop a gang of crows. the diners begin to clap. this is
the best show the rainforest cafe has put on yet! i see a
manager in the corner spring up in panic. this doesn’t
comply with their health & safety policy

Buy issue 9 today.

Lucent Dreaming is an independent creative writing magazine publishing beautiful, imaginative and surreal short stories, poetry and artwork from emerging authors and artists worldwide. Subscribe to Lucent Dreaming now, support us on Patreon and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

Charlotte Knight is a British-Ukrainian poet, currently obtaining a Master’s in Creative & Life Writing at Goldsmiths. She has been commended in the National Poetry Competition (2019), shortlisted for the Outspoken Prize for Poetry (2020), and longlisted for the Women Poets’ Prize (2020). Her work is concerned primarily with fertility and the environment, and has previously been featured in Magma, SPAM, and Perverse, amongst others.
@lottietheknight