Mieke Leenders: 2 Poems

Mnemosyne’s Mouth

I don't recognize any of the food on the counter. My mother points at a table at the center of the room, tells me to wait. I recognize bread. An abstract idea of bread without air. Wheat without breath. My mother speaks. I drink her voice until I am full. Hands, even smaller than mine, take the loaf, tear it apart. The sound of a moist rag.
Gulp
Stumble
Wheeze
Cackle
Crack

​Oizys’ Touch

​Walls growl and gnash
as black strokes become violent bodies.
The fragrance is war.

Mieke Leenders is a writer, journalist, social justice activist, photographer, and art historian. Her poems, short stories, and photographs have appeared in various publications including The Abstract Elephant Magazine, Wanderlust Journal, Quillkeepers Press, The Bluebird Word, and more. A native Belgian, Mieke spent years backpacking and residing in different countries before settling in Spain.