Self-Reflection

Written by Ananda

This poem is my unfiltered look at the cycle of binge eating and self loathing. It begins with immediate guilt, descends into the deep-seated hatred that follows, and ends with the exhausting performance of trying to fix yourself until you feel completely erased. It reflects the painful gap between who you are and who you feel pressured to be.

Written by Brooke

This poem explores the difficulty of articulating and explaining yourself to other people. It is about loneliness, identity, and the struggle to find a language that can accurately express your experiences and emotions. It was born from a lifetime of trying to forge friendships and connect with others in a way that felt authentically true to myself, while still maintaining the illusion that any one person can be understood or summed up with the right combination of words.

Written by Brooke

True to its title, this poem was inspired by a particularly horrible nightmare and the experience of coming back to consciousness from it. I wanted to capture the way nightmares can feel as though they are physically haunting your body, even after you’ve woken up to find none of it was real.

Written by Alice

This poem is about the haunting beauty behind the female humpback whale (also known as ‘Sweet Girl’) who met a tragic end. It was inspired by the photograph taken by Rachel Moore in 2024.

Written by Ananda

This poem charts a journey from surviving for a future self to living for the wounded teenager within. It challenges the myth of linear healing, arguing instead that recovery is a complicated, non-linear process of ‘tremors.’

Written by Sabrina

This poem explores the importance of practising gratitude by reflecting on and appreciating the beauty we see all around us.

Written by Olivia

This idea came to me randomly one day — as most of my weird story ideas do. I thought it might work as a poem, and this is what unfolded. I’ve tried to connect it to ideas of mental health, and how being a sensitive individual can feel like you’re constantly carrying around a heavy weight.

Written by Ananda

This poem explores the tension between outward appearances and inner turmoil, depicting a speaker who feels misunderstood, fragile, and haunted by unseen struggles.

Written by Rebecca

Inspired by the automated tannoy announcements on the underground — a setting which often triggers me — this poem explores the crossovers between my mental, physical and emotional health issues.

Written by Ananda

Not the Hills Your Mother Walked" reflects on the weight of parental expectations, comparing the writer’s limitations to their mother’s strength and finding freedom embracing their own path.