Janet Crawford is a Falkirk based writer. Her film-poem Beacon, was included in the New York based ‘Anti Heroin Chic’. Her debut stage-play ‘A Cup ‘o Kindness’, was shown during the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2018. She is a trustee of The Federation of Writers (Scotland). Janet sings with the Freedom of Mind Community Choir and is a member of the Women with Fierce Words collective.  Locally, she has programmed for the Falkirk Storytelling Festival, bringing her love of all things writing to her home town. Her most recent publications include her first published short story in Razor Cuts IX,  and poetry in a number of anthologies including Words from Battlefield, Horsepower, To Whom It May Concern, Nutmeg 21, Razur Cuts- finest cuts and most recently Short & Sweet. She has recently added open water swimming and campervanning to her hobbies and feels these are great for encouraging her writing!

Scunnert

I ken I cannae change time
I’m stuck with days that hurtle oan
beyond a voice
I cannae help but want tae hear

whisper love

dis a lug caw canny
and mind itsel
o the lilt and lift yer voice carrit
when it lifted vowels and letters
straight fi yer heart shoutin…
‘bye darling, I love you’

as I ran awa
messages dropped in yer hall

nae tea or hugs shared, nae soap opera chatter
whilst I laughed …
mindin ye,
I dinnae watch them at aw
and then you’d say
‘well, I’m only telling ye whit I watched’…

yer een dancing wi laughter

or dae I hae tae learn tae feast on memory
and chew it doon in tiny mouthfu’s
so as no tae choke

oan grief.