pint 1: soy all plant triggers the reflex
arch to spout any froth or foam
entering this pint glass
a thickness lines the teeth
there must be a throat
rearing the next swallow
not choreographed not rhythmic
just miming her dietary intervention
this is the first pint of five
[tidal] intervals emptying her outline
pint 2: oat my bloods will run creamy – thick
[a possibility increasing over 14 days]
watch the duct sting as white film layers her iris
[rub this away in sleep]
press torso into mattress and reconsider the worth of your pain
interval rinse and repeat
until lips flickering
enter a new site
consider a density
[at the bottom of your glass]
pint 3: almond not as I remembered
notes of soil
a scratch to the throat
ask yourself:
the question will
always be sugar coated [but as for the almonds]
not flavoured in imitation
not sustainable water use
interval roof of mouth as metallic
the tongue pitter-patters
an episode of dehydration
[excrete and breathe]
from one body to another
pint 4: rice consider water tension
of the stomach knotting
as you take a midday shower
these shards
[or clear ants scuttle]
redacted into the thousands
sweet sickens the palate
avoid sickness
pint 5: cow heave further as body mass
or take a nap
[a commitment is necessary]
formed from grass or hay
flanking as restlessness
this tributary waits
is a poet, visiting tutor, and AHRC funded doctoral researcher based at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her publications include Dorothy (Broken Sleep Books) and Microsporidial (Sampson Low). She is a co-founder of the Crested Tit Collective (2018 – 2020), and established Osmosis Press in January 2021.
Milk was written following a short stay in hospital. This excerpt reflects on the liquid diet the author was placed on prior to surgery: five pints of milk a day, for a fortnight. Milk reflects on the experience as a form of embodied research, wherein the boundaries are pushed between the body and its intimacy with liquids.
Copyright for all work remains with the author thereof and any requests to reprint should be made directly.
Cover designs:
Issue 1 © SPOONFEED Magazine
SPOONFEED x New Writing © Caitlin Allen
Issue 2 © Louise Crosby
Potluck x SPOONFEED © Annie Spratt and Rhia Cook