Merak Magazine

Nostalgia

He stares at me strangely This son of my mine He catches me smiling When there’s no reason or pantomime I’ve wondered down memory lane And can’t keep that smile away. Oh my golden youth! If only I could turn…

American Mistress

  It was odd what had come over Jake’s parents. Usually they argued. Sometimes violently. But this morning it seemed they had found some sort of common ground. His father sat at the kitchen table at his typewriter as his…

The Pure Savage

On lofty land The pure savage bird Builds its eyries With plenty of benign Dark from the human race The majestic Eagle, Flaps its mighty wings with elegance. Screeching across regions with victory and pride. To meet opportunities to strike…

Goodbye To Reality

Here I am again, back to the beginning, Temporarily happy, with this torture cycle That’s never-ending. Thought things would change when I went through those days, From highs to lows, fantasy and I part ways. Why does reality remind me…

Over the hills, Along the shore.

Virescent lines drawing curves of hills I worship every time I recall her figure, Douglas firs aligned Rivet memories from our first kiss How dry cracks on her lips Touched mine, As we spooned. Hot wind mixed with salt The…

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Blurb: It tells the story of two sisters in France during World War II, and their struggle to survive and resist the German occupation of France. I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Nightingale for its storytelling and twists that kept me gripped…

A Letter To My Old Self

Dear girl who had a shoddy past, I am hoping that we will never meet again and therefore writing this letter to talk to you, to confess, to thank you for the times you have been there for me when…

How Do I Tell You Ma?

Ma, You say psychology was your favourite subject. Then why is that you fail to understand me? You ask me “What problems can you possibly have? You’re only seventeen” But how do I tell you Ma? How do I tell…

Careless

For years, we smelled smoke. The facade was on fire, still measurements went un-taken. Flames carelessly set by those who ignited lives as if humans were candles. The bent spoons and broken bowls courted cracked cups? Many lessons floated yet…

I Will Stop Loving You

  When the sun doesn’t shine And dreams are no longer mine When hopes run out And volcanoes no longer shout When all the oceans become dry And you count all the stars in the sky When all the trees’…

Unkn(own)

I’ve been to far off places, Not one of them were as queer as you. You’re like a strategy dug so deep, I sense sadness when I hold you Melancholy, at the rim of your throat; Like a place I’ve…

Salt Slow by Julia Armfield

Once upon a time, I was a person who made the bold claim: ‘I don’t like short stories.’ Imagine that, just writing off a whole genre like that! In the past whenever I dabbled in short story collections (which wasn’t…

The Minimalist Babe by Lola Ray Marie

‘Echoing the thoughts behind Leonardo Da Vinci’s quote that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” The Minimalist Babe teaches you how to value the simple things. From learning to declutter and live with less to living life with passion, good health,…