Poetry by Lucy Coats

Matthias Ripp CC




Episode I /

raw nerves under super-thinned skin / malwired synapses / electric bone frizzle / fizzing 
fear bubble / maddened hamster brain / wheel spinning endless arounds / over and under
thoughts / pattern rat chasing adder tail / out of control crazy batshit / 3am wide awake / 

                                                                exploding bird scratch heartbeats / 

leaden weight body / quicksand dreaming / sinking / 

                                                no hope of rescue / 

ragged nails grasping land’s sane edges / crumbling / letting go / waking / breath suck paralysed
/ unending inside skull screams / 
                                                                                 it’s all fine / 
                                                                                                 fucked / insecure / neurotic / emotional / 

headlight nothing staring / everything fragmented behind eyes dripping / adrenaline overflow /
stinking / unwashed armpit groin / lank hair-snarl / mouth moss dry bones on desert highways 

                                / longing for touch / 
                                                               always pushing away / 

whisper dull no no / no voice / unmoving / duvet shield clutch closed / 
wrapped feather heavy despair 

                                 / no tea / no thank you / 
                 always small quiet polite /

unlovable / worthless / invisible / 

                                                                                               knives / pills / rope / 

anything to stop this unbearable exposure / this flayed mind / this hell / this unending days-long
grey/ 

shall i shall i shall i / 

he brings fat / coating nerve fray with greasy goodness / gobbling slippery butter wads / lip
stinging salt marmite / crunch toast / sharp crumb scratch rumple bed / honey chai /hot /
sliding down sticky spice comfort / holding on hand / lifebelt /

maybe this world / is worth clinging to / maybe it is / 
maybe I’m still here /
                                                                     maybe maybe maybe I’m ok //






Episode II /

                               body a cage / 
containing multitudes of ravening/ horned viper / sharp fangs tearing inside a fervid brain /
reducing it to self-doubt shreds /grey tiger / pacing guts / acid inner pathways ripped by 
                filthy poisoned paws / leaking the bile of fear / 
                               the bared-teeth hamster wheel of the heart 
                                                                 (yes, hamsters raven too) /
pitter-patter feet scrabbling to catch the next erratic beat at 3am / 
                                  waking the body from sleep like a punch from Samson’s fist / 

                                                                                                                                                  do you know the feeling? // 

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Lucy Coats is a neurodivergent poet from the UK. Her poetry encompasses nature, war, grief, queerness, and patriarchy. Her debut collection, which Salena Godden describes as: “rallying cry and mourning prayer”, is currently out on submission. In 2024 she was shortlisted for The Bridport Poetry Prize, and in 2022 won the Latin Programme Poetry Prize. Her work has also appeared in Clarion Quarterly, The Winged Moon and Sunday Mornings at the River, amongst others.




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