
Sophia Isabella Murray is a witch, a poet, a teacher,…
after Nayyirah Waheed
We are quiet now
tired
clipped tones thrown
from the dark place
in our throats
holding space for
everyone else
above our breasts
our chests beneath
water
shoulder blades
carrying the weight
we hang
silently on hooks
at the door
chipping away
never ending lists
on the walls
we cling
curled on the floor in the
way we were and are
always will be
behind closed doors
tired
the whore
the mother
the healer
the seeker
the leader
and the child
we fall in the arms of each other
we look in the eyes of each other
for sleep

Sophia Isabella Murray is a witch, a poet, a teacher, a mother, and was once described as a Viking goddess—a throwaway comment she has happily accepted as fact. She currently divides her time between the wilderness of Northumberland and the vibrant tapestry of Southeast Asia, where she lives and works with her husband, children, and dog-formed familiar, Coconuts. Her chapbooks, The Alchemist’s Daughter (Time is an Ocean Press), Reasons Why We’re Angry (Querencia Press), and Spiritual Milk (Time is an Ocean Press) are available to order online. Aside from these publications, her work has been included in several anthologies both online and in print, including Free Verse Revolution Lit, The Mum Poem Press, WrittenOff Publishing, The 6ress, The Hyacinth Review, The Cabinet of Heed, Fragmented Voices, Motherlore Magazine, and Scavengers Lit