Discover new books on Goodreads
Meet your next favorite book
“Then he started his period.
One week in bed.
Two doctors in.
Three painkillers four times a day.
And later a letter to the powers-that-be
demanding full-paid menstrual leave twelve weeks per year.”
― Selected Poems
One week in bed.
Two doctors in.
Three painkillers four times a day.
And later a letter to the powers-that-be
demanding full-paid menstrual leave twelve weeks per year.”
― Selected Poems
“Give me, you said, on our very first night,
the forest. I rose from the bed and went out,
and when I returned, you listened, enthralled,
to the shadowy story I told.
Give me the river,
you asked the next night, then I’ll love you forever.
I slipped from your arms and was gone,
and when I came back, you listened, at dawn,
to the glittering story I told.
Give me, you said, the gold
from the sun. A third time, I got up and dressed,
and when I came home, you sprawled on my breast,
for the dazzling story I told.
Give me,
the hedgerows, give me the fields,
I slid from the warmth of our sheets,
and when I returned, to kiss you from sleep,
you stirred at the story I told.
give me the silvery cold,
of the moon. I pulled on my boots and my coat,
but when i came back, moonlight on your throat
outshone the story I told
Give me, you howled
on our sixth night together, the wind in the trees.
You turned to the wall as I left,
and when I came home, I saw you were deaf
to the blustering story I told.
Give me the sky, all the space
it can hold. I left you, the last night we loved,
and when I returned, you were gone with the gold,
and the silver, the river, the forest, the fields,
and this is the story I’ve told.
"Give”
― Rapture
the forest. I rose from the bed and went out,
and when I returned, you listened, enthralled,
to the shadowy story I told.
Give me the river,
you asked the next night, then I’ll love you forever.
I slipped from your arms and was gone,
and when I came back, you listened, at dawn,
to the glittering story I told.
Give me, you said, the gold
from the sun. A third time, I got up and dressed,
and when I came home, you sprawled on my breast,
for the dazzling story I told.
Give me,
the hedgerows, give me the fields,
I slid from the warmth of our sheets,
and when I returned, to kiss you from sleep,
you stirred at the story I told.
give me the silvery cold,
of the moon. I pulled on my boots and my coat,
but when i came back, moonlight on your throat
outshone the story I told
Give me, you howled
on our sixth night together, the wind in the trees.
You turned to the wall as I left,
and when I came home, I saw you were deaf
to the blustering story I told.
Give me the sky, all the space
it can hold. I left you, the last night we loved,
and when I returned, you were gone with the gold,
and the silver, the river, the forest, the fields,
and this is the story I’ve told.
"Give”
― Rapture
“I tend the mobile now
like an injured bird
We text, text, text
our significant words.
I re-read your first,
your second, your third,
look for your small xx,
feeling absurd.
The codes we send
arrive with a broken chord.
I try to picture your hands,
their image is blurred.
Nothing my thumbs press
will ever be heard.
"Text”
― Rapture
like an injured bird
We text, text, text
our significant words.
I re-read your first,
your second, your third,
look for your small xx,
feeling absurd.
The codes we send
arrive with a broken chord.
I try to picture your hands,
their image is blurred.
Nothing my thumbs press
will ever be heard.
"Text”
― Rapture
“When did your name
change from a proper noun
to a charm?
Its three vowels
like jewels
on the thread of my breath.
Its consonants
brushing my mouth
like a kiss.
I love your name.
I say it again and again
in this summer rain.
I see it,
discreet in the alphabet,
like a wish.
I pray it
into the night
till its letters are light.
I hear your name
rhyming, rhyming,
rhyming with everything.
"Name”
― Rapture
change from a proper noun
to a charm?
Its three vowels
like jewels
on the thread of my breath.
Its consonants
brushing my mouth
like a kiss.
I love your name.
I say it again and again
in this summer rain.
I see it,
discreet in the alphabet,
like a wish.
I pray it
into the night
till its letters are light.
I hear your name
rhyming, rhyming,
rhyming with everything.
"Name”
― Rapture
Our Shared Shelf
— 222828 members
— last activity Jul 30, 2026 09:56AM
OUR SHARED SHELF IS CURRENTLY DORMANT AND NOT MANAGED BY EMMA AND HER TEAM. Dear Readers, As part of my work with UN Women, I have started reading ...more
Pauline’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Pauline’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Pauline hasn't connected with her friends on Goodreads, yet.
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Pauline
Lists liked by Pauline















