ROOTS
the madrigal, volume ii
the house
by aimee macdonald
the day I returned after seven years away
I rearranged my parent’s laundry cupboard
something to do, something to prove
swaddle me in white again
fresh smelling sheets, baby
I’m an adult now, look
folding squares into squares into squares into squares
and my small single bed’s brightness, calling:
tuck me back in again
remember when you could fold yourself up nice and tight and slide into the corner of your room
between the bedside table and the stacks of books
and you would drape their double duvet sheets in between two towers and close your eyes. you close your eyes once more
briefly, and you think
maybe I’ll read, if I sneak in again
I will definitely have dreams
of futures with a past I’ll return to
just to say hello and fold the sheets
Aimee (she/her) is an English Literature student and writer based in Glasgow who spends the majority of her free time reading and writing poetry and short stories. She likes anything fantastical, specifically feminist retellings of ancient myths and creepy fairy tales, and often draws these classical and historical interests into her own work, with a focus on mental health and the body. She aims to write the strange, nostalgic, evocative and occasionally uncomfortable. She is published in GUM and Prickly Pear Magazine, and posts her poetry and some spoken word on her Instagram blog (@writingaimee).