a small grey bear soaked in piss

poetry
Written By Simon Maddrell

taught me the difference between giving

& being given, keeping it clasped

for far too long...the doctor said

he should have outgrown it by now.

I used to hide treasure in a bed

of forget-me-nots. An oil drum

produced forced rhubarb giving

early crumbles & pies —

it turns pinker, sweeter, more tender.

Dad stealing peat from Bolton moors

taught me the difference between

taking being taken, his spade cut it

into pieces to feed his strawberry bed

it retains moisture and aids growth.

Simon Maddrell

Simon Maddrell appears in Gutter, Magma, Poetry Wales, SAND, Southword, The London Magazine, The Moth, The Rialto, The Waxed Lemon, Under the Radar, and others. They have seven pamphlets, including Queerfella, Isle of Sin, and a finger in derek jarman’s mouth. Simon's debut collection, lamping wild rabbits, was published by Out-Spoken Press in Feb 2026. Find him @simonmaddrell almost everywhere.

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