by Martin Yip ‘Imagine there’s no countries / It isn’t hard to do / Nothing to kill or die for / And no religion too.’ So passionately sang John Lennon in Imagine. The imagery of peace and harmony was appealing: if only the physical and psychological barriers between people could come down, we would all […]
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by Leo Gillard On a normal day, Bel woke up when an alarm went off. Sometimes that alarm was just his alarm clock, sometimes it was the gas warning, sometimes a medication alert, sometimes a car on the street below or the house across the road, and sometimes it was an air raid alert. That […]
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منعم وینس دو زبانیں بندھي ہويدو دل دھڑکتے ہوےدو سر ٹکراتے ہوےدو سرحدیں by Monim Wains Two tongues tied togetherTwo hearts beatingTwo heads butting togetherTwo borders
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by Gregory Davison Sometimes you can see it When the night is dark,Terror feeding the frightfulVision before your eyes. When reality falls out of sync,And you join the ranksOf a world of dreams, lurking in The forgotten crevices of your mind.It’s a world you know,More familiar than the one you own. So cross the borderBetween […]
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by Martin Yip Someone (in)famous once said that borders were very important. Millions of people were rushing across the border every day. They were bad, bad people. They commit so many crimes, tremendously many. They are a threat to security. So, he said, we must BUILD A WALL to protect the borders. Across the globe, […]
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by Caitlin Ross The sun, having travelled a great distance,Breaks soft upon one still, rose-tinted cheek.Glowing waking hours of our existence,Pale limbs stir ‘neath their tangled, off white sheets Light dust hovers in the shafts of sunlight,Like birds flitting, basking in morning heat.The old bed creaks, and the young sun highlightsSleepy young eyes, which crack […]
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by Monim Wains Old crusted sand baked under the searing sun. Thin cracks stretched along the surface, marking allegiance, marking blood. Shadows loomed over the lines, walking with slow, heavy intent. Links of chain rattled in the quiet air, as they looked over the earth. They, the powerful. They, the inheritors. They, the nations. One […]
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A PDF of the print version of Issue #51 – Borders – can be downloaded here.
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by Leo Gillard Annie woke up to the sound of an emergency alert on her phone – the screen lit up, the ever familiar sound of an alarm played. The proximity of the strike was three miles, enough to justify hurrying everyone into the shelter at five in the morning. Normally those things were accurate, […]
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by Caitlin Ross Riding down the river brown, With feathers in my head, Wearing sunshine like a crown, Fish dart through the riverbed. With feathers in my head, With the wind against my back, Fish dart through the riverbed, We advance down this new track. With the wind against my back, Our paddles flush to […]
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by Domenic Peake These images show the earth’s shadow cast on the moon during the penumbral eclipse on the 10th of January, which occurs when the earth blocks some of the light from the sun shining on the moon. It was not very obvious on the night but if you really squinted you could just […]
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by Samanwita Sen
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by The Poor Print Team The blooms at the start of spring may be met with an eclipsing moon, or midnight rolling into view. They are reminders of significant times, both good and bad. For us at The Poor Print, Anniversary marks the 50th issue of our humble corner of Oriel life. Along with the […]
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by Samanwita Sen
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by Monim Wains Midnight pulled their cloak over their head. Smooth black fur slid on slow, draped over shoulders. A resting weight hugged them down whole. They floated on the grass, wispy tendrils stroked the ground beneath their toes. The grass swooned in slumber at the touch, eyes drooping at Midnight’s caress. Eyes dreamed, staring […]
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A PDF of the print version of Issue #50 – Anniversary – can be downloaded here.
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by Monim Wains Just last year, I sent in my first nervous attempt at writing for The Poor Print. I wrote about ‘A Fresh Perspective’, a reflection on freshers’ week of first year. Now, as an old and aging second year, I tap away in the library. My age is no longer ‘-teen’, my college […]
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A PDF of the print version of Issue #49 – Perspective – can be downloaded here.
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by Leo Gillard Arin realised, now, that things were going to be okay in the end. Maybe they would have always been fine. Maybe Kieran was always going to pull through and come out the other side. Maybe it only seemed like that now, when he had a different perspective. It did seem sort of […]
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by Odessa Ng I don’t want to talk a lifetimeI don’t want to contemplate a futureHe wants a future with herThey want a future with herBut what does she want A future with whomOr a future at allAn existenceA past. Point Is there anyTo start all overShe has nothingTo complain, a lifeWith ups and downs […]
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by Martin Yip History is written by the victors, they say. I spent much of the past summer in two interesting locations – Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and Beijing, the capital of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Both countries share a history of communist rule which are, interestingly enough, depicted from […]
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by Gregory Davidson I can only see the worldFrom eyes so surely mine,So locked insideOne head,One space,That the way the world appears to me,Is made so by my eyes. And yet myself,I only seeFrom eyes that aren’t quite rightNot the eyes of othersAnd certainly not mine,But the eyes in the mirrorLooking back in self-reflection,Eyes that […]
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by Caitlin Ross a fuchsia holds a different meaning to you than it does to memy hands shrink down to a child’s hands and i laughdo you remember who you were before the world took its toll on you?and do you know where that person lives on?do they linger by the old green pond teeming […]
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by Leo Gillard Kieran was perfectly aware that his life had… not exactly gone as planned. That he was stuck in something he couldn’t quite see the end of, couldn’t reach the bottom of to push himself back up again. He’d gone down the wrong path, somewhere along the line, and he’d sunk somewhere without […]
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A PDF of the print version of Issue #48 – Overcome – can be downloaded here.
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by Ruida Ding Time Management Strive to study in a systematic manner, for example by following a schedule to work a fixed amount of time each day. With sufficient advance planning, one can avoid working late into the night and circumvent all-nighters. Career Make use of Michaelmas term to converse with firms which interest you. […]
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by David K Asamoah We are as planets in the starry domeMoving in unique orbits through the void,Though the same sky, in different heavens we roamAs different hells for us have been employedOften in the late hours of day one findsTheir focus lost in twilight’s bold displayAnd endless thought puts one in many mindsFor many […]
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by Gregory Davison Nothing gets my tears to start flowingLike people saying goodbye,In film, on TV, in the books that I read,No matter how often, how cheesily it’s done.There’s something about separationA distance, not easily overcome,But with time, and with memoryI think it can be done. I once made a joke with a friendThat I […]
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by Monim Wains
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by Caitlin Ross mulberry boy,it was a balmy summer day wheni first saw youi was walking on thewarm pavementwhen yougreeted medangling, swayingfrom the bowed branch ofyour tree. your branch was justin my reach,you looked plumpand juicy and sweetyour deep, lustrous exterioryour mellow, purple scententicing meto takea bite. you were just assweet as i imaginedsucculent and […]
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by Iona Cowley The snow came over the night, as we thought it would. Slowly white piled up as duplicate of all, inching its way upward, cruel and faded shadow’s opposition. The sky was unusually light, no doubt the work of the millions of tiny crystals that were diffusing the neon street lamps as they […]
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by Raghav Arora and Samanwita Sen Spring Awakening is a bold take on teenage sexuality. It follows the experiences of various adolescents,’ sexuality coming to full bloom, with a major focus on Wendla Bergmann as she forays into the unfamiliar territory of lustful passion in her relationship with Melchior Gabor. The play strikes a fine […]
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A PDF of the print version of Issue #47 – Sacrifice – can be downloaded here.
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by Martin Yip On 1 October 2019, the People’s Republic of China celebrated its 70th anniversary. In Beijing, the largest ever military parade was staged. Fifteen thousand troops marched across Tiananmen Square with armaments that were all made in China. ‘Patriotism and pride swelled among the Chinese as they celebrated the country’s seven decades of […]
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by Leo Gillard Laila could see that he was on the edge of something; something she didn’t want to see come to pass. Actually, they could all see it. Kieran was standing on the edge he’d been standing on for years now. Yet it… it almost wasn’t him she worried for. Everyone knew that Kieran […]
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by Samanwita Sen Dear dreamer, It must have been a treacherous sail across the world. I can imagine it – how years before my formless thoughts could fathom the existence of time and a world beyond you and this beautiful thing called growing up, you must’ve arched your back, reaching for the specks of stardust […]
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by Grace Khuri 2019 marks the hundredth anniversary of the Treaty of Versailles (signed 28 June 1919), which officially ended the First World War. At this time of year, and not least during this twilight of the centenary commemorations, we reflect on the subject of sacrifice and its meanings. There are many types of sacrifice, […]
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by Monim Wains Those who are selfless, who give to others, in some way or another, are worthy of respect, or so we think. The epitome of such people is those who sacrifice their whole lives to protect something worthwhile. We admire and respect their courage, celebrate their spirit with great monuments and ceremonies. What […]
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by Pedram Bassirian
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A PDF of the print version of Issue #46 – Hope – can be downloaded here.
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The Poor Print 