My poem “Dictionary of a Norwegian Hospital Bed” is now available to read in Overheard magazine or below. I’m beyond thrilled to have found a home for this poem in such a wonderful magazine, and I cannot recommend highly enough checking out other work published by Overheard.

Being one of my first poems experimenting with form, this poem has played an important role in figuring out the direction I want to take with my poetry and has inspired me to continue exploring ways poetry can meld together with other forms of text.

Dictionary of a Norwegian Hospital Bed

bønner

/bœnər/

1. n. beans – edible seeds of leguminous plants; kidney beans, black beans, coffee beans, lima beans, spill the beans, green beans, jellybeans, baked beans
2. n. prayers – moonlight captures you through the blinds, I fold my hands and whisper; please, please, please

lam

/lam:/

1. n. lamb – a young sheep; lamb chop, like a lamb to the slaughter, gentle as a lamb
2. adj. paralysed – your eyes open, but you can’t move; left, right, forwards, backwards

tunge

/to`ŋ:ə/

1. n. tongue –  the soft piece of flesh in the mouth, used for tasting and speaking; ox tongue, slip of the tongue, tongue twister
2. adj. heavy – they lift your limbs and scrub you down with soap; arms, legs, you make me leave the room

full

/ful:/

1. adj. drunk – having one’s faculties impaired by alcohol; get drunk, drunk driver, dead-drunk
2. adj. full –  anger fills you; replaces the liver, crumbles the bones, spreads through the tubes until the machines beep loudly

kart

/kart/

1. n. unripe fruit – fruit that is immature and not ready to be eaten; apples, lemons, peaches, pears, bananas
2. n. map – I only leave when they put new sheets on the bed; not knowing where to go, how to