A Poem by L Kiew

Matrilinear

(after Gego, Tronco No 2, (Trunk), 1975)

Mama Ele twists shadows left
and right; long nose reaches,
grabs, tugs and presses constantly.
Sun warms networked neurons,
hairlines of sway and slack.

Trunk tip touches, tangles up
planes, creates volumes and nets
of space. She delineates worlds,
the trails her daughters follow,
how a line operates and beyond.

A chinese-malaysian living in London, L Kiew works as a charity sector leader and accountant. She holds a MSc in Creative Writing and Literary Studies from Edinburgh University. Her debut pamphlet, The Unquiet, was published by Offord Road Books in 2019. She was longlisted in the 2019 National Poetry Competition and was a 2019/2020 London Library Emerging Writer. L Kiew’s first collection, More than Weeds, was published by Nine Arches Press in 2023.