Pippa Little’s poem ‘Luminol’ uses the image of the actual crime-scene chemical to great effect – haunts her poem with its visual luminescence and the stains you know are there but can never truly remove. – Jane Burn, guest editor.
Luminol
reveals the secret
you don’t even know you know
until years afterwards
like an old stain
it rises up
moon-green
strange as fireflies
undeniable
evidence
of a crime
that never was,
flares now in plain sight
so on your knees
you scrub and scrub
down to the bristles
hot with shame
and it all floods in,
memory and spasm
as time collapses
and your skin slips
squint, you mutter
in your lonely business
victim, forensic, char
before the light fails
Pippa Little is currently working on a third full collection and a pamphlet as well as running reflective writing workshops for new students with mental health issues.
Celebrating Change 