The birdcage He took a long breath and opened the door to his balcony, the brightness of the morning sun blinding him momentarily. He squinted his eyes and looked around. Dead quiet, an empty birdcage staring back at him. He could feel the metropolis moving beneath, the breeze of speeding cars never stopping to ponder … Continue reading The birdcage: short-story

Non-Australia day Chapter 1: First arrival The year is 1788, and after a period of approximately eight months and seven days, Captain Cook is thrilled to announce the sighting of a new promised land to his crew. The land is rugged and the sun shines feverishly bright above as they moor. The men are excited … Continue reading Non-Australia Day: experimental writing story: postmodern f(r)ictions; written in October 2019

First time I met Ishmael was during a gathering at a painter’s house, but one can’t be too sure, for in those early days following the pandemic, everyone lived, or strived to, at least, their best bohemian life. People gathered at this mansion of immaculate marble floors and walls, but no one really knew, and … Continue reading Call me Ishmael: 2500-word short story

Aqui jazo, estendido Esquecido por esse mundo de paixão que me deixa dorido, Extasiado pela dor infindável que me consome, Pelo amor ou falta dele que me rouba a fome. Aqui jazo, ao destino deixado, Outrora de amores imaculado, Durmo agora para esquecer, Renegado. O coração em tempos preenchido de paixão, é agora consumido por … Continue reading Throwback poem: written in Portuguese on the 15th of March, 2011

Villa In the comfort of this bed I lay, the lack of a morning alarm setting a slow-pace as I ponder on what to do with the day. The year being cancelled as it may, I’m now unessential in the rat-race and so in the comfort of this bed I lay. It isn’t all bleak … Continue reading Quarantine Villanelle

Sarah enters the flat and closes the door behind her. The dark room stares back at her as she inhales its odour, a fragrance she detests but has engraved in her mind. Layers of her clothing immediately start to shed like snakeskins in summer. The darkness that engulfs her naked body brings her some much … Continue reading Suede nightmares – short fiction with characters in conflict

Amsterdam It was my first time travelling alone, and what better place to do it than the always revolving bicycle wheel that is Amsterdam? I arrived downtown during a late afternoon and dropped my bags at the hotel in a hurry, such a hurry that I did not even think to change into shoes and … Continue reading Travel writing: 200 words of vivid description

A play by Vasco Pimentel CHARACTERS MARIE- Somewhat underweight. In her late thirties. STEPH- Very promiscuous attire. In her late twenties. GEOFF- The group sponsor. In his late fifties. PAUL- Typical artist demeanour. In his early thirties. SETTING Addicts Anonymous circle of people. Set anywhere around Australia. SCENE ONE Late afternoon inside an old, beat-down … Continue reading Vicious circle (performance piece)

  The sound of being left alone Soars through these plains as the ocean washes a mist of reality upon the poet’s dry brow. But tarmac leads the way if one is to walk out of these woods. I miss your cheeks’ softness as I caress the rugged bark You can’t see the stars without … Continue reading Injidup: free form poetry

Here too words unsaid Old stories locked by gazes Friends stuck in phases.   Here too smiles go by bold in ivory, meaning floating, clever shy.   Here too flowers bloom And sun shines through leaves, kissed by starry nights’ pledges.   Here too hearts thicken Sanded to many edges as leaves start browning.   … Continue reading Haiku: Not here