Killamarsh

Written By Alice Kemp

Saw this name on the news.

Saw it emblazoned in pixels, devilry in media, strikes piling up like an ice cream sundae, on a winter’s day, on an ambulance of honeycomb. Singing at the voices from the speaker. They reach through and dance me around the room. Cradled; rocking; gentle. Kill-a-marsh, kill-a-marsh. Bog people, yellow snow, violet hours. They all sing to me from the pages. Support the ambulance workers, above-inflation pay rises please. Please, chanting, please please! 

Saw the world in what felt like nine minutes. Drank the Nile in under an hour. Holding more world records than you’d ever be able to announce in your lifetime. Saw through it all to something fat and swelling, red scarves and baubles and moving boxes. The marsh had been killed among the fragments of these trivial lives. 

Saw it hurt, saw the pain flicker. Felt really bad. Felt for my pennies and threw them at the screen.

You can listen to a recording of this story at: Purple Radio Spotify

Alice Kemp

Alice Kemp is an English Literature graduate from Trevelyan College, currently studying the MA Law Conversion in London. First and foremost a poet, with inspiration ranging from Daljit Nagra to John Milton, she also writes short fiction, drama, and reviews her recent reads. She has submitted her poetry to The London Magazine and volunteers at The Pomegranate London, a literary magazine which celebrates the role of the artist, and invites you to read their amazing work via their website or Instagram (@thepomegranatelondon).

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