the first crossing
now his neck is folded through with water
and the coals have burned and the metal has
forged the mane. this skin won’t split.
see how we make our men: slowly,
with heat at first and blood eyes that drum
so quickly set to aspic, to glass
in the flood
Josephine Roele is a senior at Edinburgh University in Scotland studying for an MA in English Literature. Her work has appeared in The Veg and steps magazine.