Brutal Poetry

HCE received a lot of high-quality submissions for The Brutal Issue – sadly, too many to fit inside the magazine! So we offered some of our shortlisted contributors the chance to be published on our website.

Keep an eye on our social media for more great writing like this, in the run up to the release of The Brutal Issue…


Amaranthine Marriage Blues

Charlotte Begg

Before he knew it blisters had pissed
ruptured within
while my lip was curled,
frothing, until
a spit of venom hit the man.
His laughter finished and
his face now; mackled skin
melting thin with
an eye socket on show.
His ball dropped,
and for the first time in his life
he complimented my shoes.


CHARLOTTE BEGG lives on the archaic Isle of Wight, UK with her four children and husband. She splits her time between family, studying and creating poetry and art.