MEMORISED PRAYERS | HANNAH SMITH-YEN

Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Prayer lanced into the fabric
Edged in dupioni silk (anemone,
like the sea creature) and backed with twill
Illuminate;
In gold, in gold, not roses
Bearing offerings of bread
The pangs of tiny wars, fighting
ever-striving, denying
Denying, denial, we-
we are children
Sucking on the sweet fleshed seeds
Thy kingdom come: it will not come,
We are not there, we're
ether, inhaled. Gates forced open, our kingdom's gone.
Heaven
earthbound? A breath.
Lying under swans and jackals,
Still but still alive, we deny you.
Until we cannot.
For thine is the kingdom,
And the power, and the glory,
For ever and ever,
Amen.

IMG_20200311_161510 (2).jpg — **Hannah Smith-Yen** was born in Guisborough and grew up around the world. She has just finished her masters degree in ethnographic and documentary film, creating a film that explores her identity as a third culture kid. She has been published in Gaze Journal, Persephone's Daughters, Dreginald, and BONED. You can find more of her work at hannahsmithyen.tumblr.com or find her on instagram - @yonshimi.

Cover art by Shane Allison.