It’s 2003, and Joni is teaching me about love. Everyone in the house is still asleep, and I am wine-furred and spinning. I could kiss you awake to watch the sun come up, drink in the first light together. Maybe step over a hallway nest of limbs, in case breakfast is possible – handfuls of strange food from this strange fridge. I’d serve you yoghurt or cheerios or my whole pink meaty heart, darling. Last night catches like lava and stars in my throat, and the urge to wake you rises – birdsong in bare branches. I am aching for your company, would bet the change and chewing gum still in my jeans pocket that your second I love you will be better even through the hangover. Remember that song on repeat? Vinyl skipping you’re in my blood / in my blood / in my blood. That voice. Your face. Your fingertips lifted me clean off my feet.
Beeper Peddle is a writer and healer living on the East Coast. She lives with her partner and their beloved soul puppy. Beeper writes about sorrows, lies, and deep loves. When you read her work, you will dip down into her heart and end up in all manner of body parts. Should you find yourself reflected in these words, it is merely coincidence; however, it does not surprise her you share the same heart. Find her at bethpeddle.com and @beeperpeddle on Twitter and Instagram
Jen Feroze is a UK poet living by the sea with her husband and two young children. Her work has appeared in Chestnut Review, Boats Against The Current, Atrium, and Dust, among others. Her first collection – The Colour of Hope – was published in 2020.
miniskirt magazine 