WHIMSY
the madrigal, volume iii
the foil collector
by mary senier
dreams in aluminium. sings in tinny whispers in waking hours spent worming in crusts and grime, in
crumbs and slime of sticky lunchroom floors. salvaging silver sandwich sheaths, red rustles of crisp
packets salty to touch.
drifting along in the sharp street air, the sweetest of treasures are snared by a child with trash in her
hair. tyre-streaked possibilities gleaned from gutters by bin-gutting hands, transported home in
crackling fabric of bookbags lined with kit kat casings, hubba bubba sheens’ brief gleams slid unseen
beneath school desks.
smoothing out bunched stars of quality street, crunched wrapping sparking the sun igniting a
bedroom. fanning a palm through kaleidoscopes fanning a wall, seams of a plan for a coat of all
colours to cloak her in rainbow, foil the doubts of her friends.
Mary Senier (she/her) is a poet from the Black Country whose work often centres around ideas of place and identity. She is currently an assistant editor for Sledgehammer Lit, so she can often be found reading through wonderful pieces whilst eating gherkins from the jar with a fork. Mary has had work published in Ample Remains, The Alchemy Spoon, The Madrigal, Sledgehammer, Nymphs, and more. She is on Twitter @MarySenier