Comfort in the castle by Hannah Myers

A large tree in the middle of green woodland. Large white text reads: Comfort In The Castle. Smaller text reads: Discussing disabled characters in fairy tales and folklore.

You lie there, caressing the minuscule dark particles of my brain
the reminder that you were once here
a constant murmur in my ear
Your sweet voice   — echoing
enticing me to live better
 
to endeavour love and hope once again
Your image severing my lust for life
with a strewn icicle
like the ones that hang lightly from the roof of the veranda
hoping one will fall and slice through me as I slam the door
 
harder and harder each time
to lie by your side, frozen in time with larvae from the blowfly
seems all but a dream to me
one I fantasise about daily
 
I would have the larvae devour my flesh
consenting the soil to make love with my ossein,
the thought of our carcasses inflating reminds me of that summer,
the summer we rented a bouncy castle in the shape of a cat for your birthday
 
together we shall bloat and collapse,
allowing our love of creatures to bounce and feast upon us
Mites  Carpet Beetles  Skipper Flies  Ants
Reminiscing that time I gifted you an ant farm after your first transplant

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About the author:
My name is Hannah Myers. I am originally from British Columbia and grew up in Glasgow. I am studying for an MA in creative writing at UCC. I adore writing poetry, game narrative, flash, scripts and ‘dirty rap’. Authors I am interested in and influenced by are Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, Raold Dahl and Sylvia Plath.