![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/bridges\/files\/2019\/05\/speakeasy-300x236.jpg\")
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 – illustration by India Hibbs<\/em><\/p>\nA grate slides across to nothing but a pair of eyes,
\nand\u00a0with that lilt, which sometimes catches me
\noff\u00a0guard, you say the word, you squeeze my hand,
\nwe\u00a0laugh nervously as the door swings open.<\/p>\n
Maybe we could hear the music before, it\u2019s\u00a0hard
\nto\u00a0remember; the sound is silky and I want to reach
\nout\u00a0my hands\u00a0to feel\u00a0the fabric,\u00a0like I do in expensive
\nshops, knowing it can never be mine.<\/p>\n
A man is playing the saxophone in the corner;\u00a0a\u00a0liquid
\nnoise\u00a0cascading amongst the hushed voices \u2013
\nas\u00a0though everyone is whispering secrets
\nor\u00a0admitting\u00a0terrible things.<\/p>\n
A man in a brown suit is sitting at the bar\u00a0with
\na\u00a0small\u00a0trumpet in his hands, but\u00a0he never plays.
\nThe barman moves\u00a0precisely,\u00a0ruling the world \u2013
\nI imagine that he knows everything\u00a0and is a god.<\/p>\n
We take a seat on red velvet under red lights,
\nscarlet\u00a0tones brushed on our cheeks. I speak:
\nW<\/i>e always end up in bars with red lights,<\/i>
\nbut<\/i>\u00a0it never feels seedy and always feels nice.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
We\u00a0are\u00a0in a place where it feels\u00a0like words
\ncan\u00a0never leave and will\u00a0stay contained\u00a0forever
\namongst\u00a0the red glow, flowing easily, prettily,
\nfrom\u00a0mind to mouth, we speak freely.<\/p>\n
We speak about our parents, the pieces of them we\u2019d like to keep,
\nto\u00a0live by when we\u2019re older, better,\u00a0all grown up.<\/i>
\nWe speak about\u00a0people\u00a0who are gone and won\u2019t be coming back,
\nand\u00a0how that\u00a0makes life feel.<\/p>\n
We are just the two in the corner:
\ncrying,
\nlaughing,
\ndrinking\u00a0drinks we can\u2019t afford.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Izzy<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Wauchope<\/span><\/span>\u00a0finished her English Literature BA last year and is currently\u202fstudying on the\u202fCreative Writing MA at Newcastle University. She has had her poetry published in two anthologies, ‘<\/span><\/span>Ten<\/span><\/span>\u00a0of the Best’ and ‘Teen Poets: Immersed in Verse’.\u202f<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Speak Easy\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 – illustration by India Hibbs A grate … Continue reading