Young Poet: Anna Ray

Anna Ray is a London-based writer, translator and holistic therapist. She was born in Rome and moved to the UK to study English Literature at the University of Warwick, followed by a Master's in Translation at the University of Bristol. Ranging from scripts to short stories and poetry, Anna's writing aims at exploring stories and instants of emotional impact, with a focus on multilingualism, and female and queer experiences.

Exile

Displaced
I break myself up in a million pieces

Can’t forget the taste of the sky
more bitter than my aching tears
or the airport-coffeed flavour in my mouth

Eyes closed
uncomfortable flicker

Out of the window
the trees are running away

Disjointed thoughts to haunt me while I’m up
in the air, retracing this lonely hazy farewell
adjusting your colours against a barely formed memory

Fragmented
I find
I’ve always been
an out-of-placer in new
unknown nostalgic lost
homes

Reflection

Yet it rains on you
ripples design your wrinkles
this pool too gets old

At the centre of the world there is light

Watching the world move
is never half as good
as plunging into the worlds
that move within you.