Charmaine Thomson lives in Wellington, New Zealand. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University.

She has been published in New Zealand and United States publications including the 4th Floor Literary Journal, The New Zealand Poetry Society journal, a fine line, The Blackmail Press, The Shot Glass Journal, the Fib Review, Sport and Turbine.

She is interested in exploring the connections between composition and poetry.

Charmaine Thomson

---

Page 1 | 2

Unacceptable

Let me tell you about the windows,
and how they kept me out,
away from the dogma of songs
that droned on like an army
with only one survivor.

Let me tell you about sleep,
the dream that doesn't happen,
until monsters submerge the car,
with your family pets in it;
you wake up without air.

Let me tell you about daylight,
the hours that pass with pens in moulded hands,
the people who don't see any bruises,
because you cover them up
with the contours of acting.