Content Warning: grief, death

Colin Bancroft – Vilomah

From Laocoon and his Sons

Laocoon knew that grief first,

The loss of his sons.

Watched death snake itself around them,

Squeeze all the life, love, youth

From their bodies.

And all he could do was shriek

To the Gods.

Just like that young father

Today on the news.

Wailing for his sons drowned at sea.

Beating the upturned cask

Of the wrecked boat,

That Trojan horse of freedom,

With his fists.

Colin Bancroft has a PhD on the Ecopoetics of Robert Frost. His pamphlet 'Impermanence' was released with Maytree Press in 2020 and 'Kayfabe' with Broken Sleep|Legitimate Snack in 2021. His pamphlet 'Knife Edge' was released in April 2022 with Broken Sleep. He won the Poets and Players Prize in 2016, and was joint winner of the Picador Shore to Shore and Manchester Cathedral Poetry Competitions (2021) respectively. He is editor at Nine Pens Press and runs the Poets' Directory.

Artwork: Fog by Rafiat Lamidi

Rafiat Lamidi is a lover of art, a poet and photographer who resides in Nigeria. Her works have been recently published in Olney Magazine, Lucent Dreaming, Lolwe, Isele Magazine and The Blood Beats Series. She is a shortlisted candidate for Awele Creative Writing Trust. Her twitter is @rauvsbunny