Poet and writer Brit Allen with their cat © Brit Allen
FEATURED ARTISTS
TWO POEMS BY POET AND WRITER BRIT ALLEN
Poet
BY: MERI UTKOVSKA
ABOUT THE ARTIST
B. Allen is a debut writer and poet, though they’ve been writing their whole life. One of their favorite past times as a child was creating stories and delving into the depths of their imagination to understand themself and the people around them. They continued to foster their love of writing in college, where they graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Along with their degree, they use their experience as a queer nonbinary person to influence and inspire their writing and their stories. They believe that storytelling is one of the best ways to connect to the world and with each other, whether on the side of the writer or the reader. When they aren’t writing, they enjoy spending time with their wife and best friend, Lindsay, reading, contemplating the human condition, listening to Hozier, and playing with their cats, Abbie and Dorothy.
SELECTED WORKS
Copperhead Bite, poem
My Mother, Leda, poem
Copperhead Bite
BY BRIT ALLEN
A copperhead with a
Delicate bite. Leaves me to
Agonize between
Death and life. But sublime
Aching means I’m alive.
Brit Allen, "Copperhead Bite". Copyright © by Brit Allen.
My Mother, Leda
BY BRIT ALLEN
Leda was my gateway into this world.
I choked on blood and feathers on the way out.
The first I looked upon her face,
The swan was still wrapped around her throat.
What did my mother ever do
To face the wrath of both gods and men?
Was it just enough that she existed
To tempt them into sin?
She was like an ancient land -
Something for them to conquer.
Her people’s grief passed on to me
And has slowly turned to anger.
Is this why there is violence in my veins,
And my heart beats the drums of war?
Is this why I am out for blood,
And crave the battle and the gore?
To my mother, Leda, I swear,
That I will hunt the Swan
Like he is nothing but a fowl,
And I will skin him to the bone.
I will break his elegant neck,
And coat his white feathers crimson.
I will make him pay with blood
For all the wrongs that he has done.
Brit Allen, "My Mother, Leda". Copyright © by Brit Allen.
