ANTIPOETRY MAGAZINE
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    • Issue 1 | February 2022 >
      • American Atavistic by David Booth
      • Antonyms for “Automotive” by Glen Armstrong
      • Excuse by John-Thomas Kelly
      • goodnight by Elena Vallejo
      • SUGAR CUBE by C. Cimmone
      • How Dreams Can End Up by Richard LeDue
      • Granny from the Days of Yore by Todd Mercer
      • ​Motherhood by Julia Nusbaum ​
      • [opening the veins] by Christine Hamm
      • Maybe by Yulia Tseytlin
      • ​What Love Is by Julia Nusbaum
      • [down there one is alone] by Christine Hamm
    • Issue 2 | June 2022 >
      • Untitled (A milky light...) by Andrea the Caustic
      • my brother screams in supermarkets by Harriet Evans'
      • The Thing that I Miss About You Is Me ​by Pamela Moss
      • There is Still Time by Robert L. Penick
      • WHEN IT'S TIME TO GO by clive donovan
      • BROTHER by Eugene O’Hare
      • darker than night by Raymond Gibson
      • Idle Days by Liam Mcclelland
      • ​on picking up a crepe paper poppy outside of lincoln cathedral By J. W. Summerisle
      • Untitled (It was the middle of winter in purgatory...) by Martin McKenna
      • december by Èlyse Deering
      • 12 months by Phrieda Bogere
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Untitled (It was the middle of winter in purgatory...) by Martin McKenna 


it was the middle of winter in purgatory
as the staff called it.
there was only a thin blanket on the death bed.
the heat was on twenty-four, seven.
   
it all changed. red was the colour of the day,
if i looked at red i was safe;
strawberries were the only thing i could eat
down in the oasis.
 
she was seated at the head of the table
and when i sat beside her
she recounted a hazardous day;
 
recited directly from my diary,
i firstly wondered how, secondly
accepted her warning, limp.
 
kieran with a k, ciaran with a c
had me reassess my loyalties,
 
all i can hear are my footsteps now,
clicking a rhythm to the hum of her refrigerator.
just might break my thirst over the head of it.

Martin McKenna's Bio:
​​Marty is an independent Irish poet, born in Tyrone, now living and writing in Belfast. Marty works for the Belfast Trust and has poems published in both online and print journals. He published his first chapbook 'silent stigma, loud leaf' in 2021; he is currently submitting work for publication which will inform his second chapbook 'gently, but a dream' due in October 2022. Marty is a neurodivergent poet.
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  • Home
  • Issues
    • Issue 1 | February 2022 >
      • American Atavistic by David Booth
      • Antonyms for “Automotive” by Glen Armstrong
      • Excuse by John-Thomas Kelly
      • goodnight by Elena Vallejo
      • SUGAR CUBE by C. Cimmone
      • How Dreams Can End Up by Richard LeDue
      • Granny from the Days of Yore by Todd Mercer
      • ​Motherhood by Julia Nusbaum ​
      • [opening the veins] by Christine Hamm
      • Maybe by Yulia Tseytlin
      • ​What Love Is by Julia Nusbaum
      • [down there one is alone] by Christine Hamm
    • Issue 2 | June 2022 >
      • Untitled (A milky light...) by Andrea the Caustic
      • my brother screams in supermarkets by Harriet Evans'
      • The Thing that I Miss About You Is Me ​by Pamela Moss
      • There is Still Time by Robert L. Penick
      • WHEN IT'S TIME TO GO by clive donovan
      • BROTHER by Eugene O’Hare
      • darker than night by Raymond Gibson
      • Idle Days by Liam Mcclelland
      • ​on picking up a crepe paper poppy outside of lincoln cathedral By J. W. Summerisle
      • Untitled (It was the middle of winter in purgatory...) by Martin McKenna
      • december by Èlyse Deering
      • 12 months by Phrieda Bogere
  • About Us
  • Submit