exit

Like an archipelago, I’m in pieces.
Strung out in the ocean,
I gasp for breath.
Open-mouthed
I gulp above the waves, my lips
Suckling at air bubbles.
I’ve never felt quite so
Alone.

Your words sweat hatred from every pore and the stench fills the air. Wild and wide-eyed, I dart for a way out, but it seems we’ve already left.

Did nobody tell you the world isn’t just yours? There’s more to a door than an exit and I feel like we’ve been here before.

Have I heard these words in an echo? Held them warm and moist in my own mouth, or was that someone else? I forget. But now I am spitting them at your feet, letter by letter. Vowels and consonants wet with my saliva and tears. You can take your sweaty hate and the fingers in your ears; take them far, far away from here because I can’t bear the smell and the silence.

An open letter to voters in the EU Referendum

Dearest voters,

Most of you don’t know me, which makes this whole letter scenario rather odd on all accounts, but I will persevere nonetheless.

As the 23rd of June looms on the horizon and everyone who is registered will be asked to vote for the UK to either stay in the European Union or to leave it, I thought I would write to you.

The European Union was forged out of the destruction of the First and Second World Wars in the interest of peace, unity and economic prosperity. It is these underlying principles which you seek to protect by voting remain.

At the Brexit camp, many people will be telling you that to leave the EU is to safeguard the British spirit and identity; I would argue to the contrary. You only have to look at British Propaganda Posters from World War Two, to see what British values emerge as fundamental in times of crisis:

Source: www.businessinsider.com

For me, dear voters, these posters don’t speak of running and hiding when the going gets tough, but rather more a spirit of pulling together and staying put even in the face of hardship.