Two Poems

1. My Secret

The world spins around like a pirouette,
as the liquor drowns me,
and the music starts to pound
into my mind and skin.
Cigarettes are all I can taste as I sway
and alien lips connect with mine.
Bodies jump to the sickening beat,
I try to move away from the people
crashing into me, but this guys in my face
and he grabs my waist.
He looks at me like prey,
and taking my hand, he leads me away.
Darkness, the world still spins,
I realise I’m naked, the guys on top
of me. I try to scream but something’s in
my mouth, stopping me. My hands are tied
and I can’t get away.
He brings in a friend and they take turns.
Tears flow freely as their laughter consumes me.
Finally I’m able to sneak out and walk home
at 7am, tired, scared and alone.
Keep it in, keep it secret, forevermore.

2. Onion Rings

Turn the package over and read the table.
Typical Values Per 100g
Energy 2155kj
515kcal
Fat 27.1g
Of which saturates 2.6g
Mono-unsaturates 22.0g
Polyunsaturates 2.1g
Carbohydrate 61.0g
Of which sugars 7.3g
Fibre 1.7g
Protein6.0g
Salt 1.7g
Don’t have that. Put it back,
no matter how much you want those onion rings.
Watch the woman from YouTube
with her spinach, kale and pear smoothie.
Her stomach, as flat as women in Vogue.
Grab your fat belly
and promise to start
exercising tomorrow.
Download My FitnessPal,
do your squats and feel the sweat.
You can do it.
You want that toned belly
and un-flabby thighs

and to eat what you want.
Your legs that look disproportioned
with your stomach which makes you
look pregnant. Twenty times people
have asked when your due.
You can do it.
You can lose that fat. Start eating spinach,
broccoli, mushrooms.
Give up meat, cheese. Swap it for tofu.
But all you want are those onion rings.

Jade Elvina Hinder is a fully fledged unicorn. Her writing is dark and a little f&cked up, but that’s just her. She is a self-pronounced coffee addict who has to have at least 5 coffees throughout the day. Now down to the professional stuff… Urgh, boring! She holds a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from the University of Gloucestershire and has a body positivity Instagram page. She has a short story published in Short Fiction Break and a flash fiction in The Pinecone Review. She has a novel written, which is hopefully soon to be published, or she may self-publish through Amazon. She has had a variety of different roles including working at a football stadium, the NHS (her current full-time role), Tesco, Carphone Warehouse and Marks and Spencer. In her spare time, she enjoys attending readings, painting, life drawing and being with her baby brother.