PLURAL MAGAZINE

Magnanimity

At the break of dawn, the light performs wonders on the pond. Bits of broken mirrors glimmer on the water over here; steel plates glitter over there; treasures of yellow coins lay among the reeds. Rays of gold flow into the water lilies like into floating cups. A silvery

The Snail

Today, under the dead leaves I foundThe yellow spiralled shell of a snail,Light and empty and very frail,That someone abandoned on the ground.  A jelly-bodied snailHas wandered summer-long around the garden,And all he had as wardenWas this humble shell,So thin and so much

Among Insects

Beginning of autumn. Full moon. Distant hills. All the stars are bigger. An orchestra of mosquitoes in the background.  A mosquito: - I can't take it anymore! My proboscis is freezing! A spider: (Huddled in the dew, Shivering and bearing his cross): - Not even a fly

The Ballad Of A Cricket Small

Upon hills huddled together,Upon rugged fields of heather,On a grey November morning,Autumn happened without warning.  Skeletal, long-limbed, berserk,Sprinkling nature through the murkWith a branch of poison oakWielded with a spiteful jerk,Autumn's spreading all aroundAs

Little Beetle

 Why have you caught me in my flight,Beautiful child? Oh, don't you knowI'm feeble and it hurts me so?Why do you squeeze my frame so tight? I am myself a child, like you,And just like you, I like to play. Have pity on my life this day,For I'm so frightened,

Another Ant

An ant was walking hard and fastAnd raising plumes of densest dustAs it trampled with its feetLike a sergeant on his beat.  Where d'you think you're rushing, brute,Who's chasing you in hot pursuit?You're wreaking havoc in your rage,Disgraceful ants,

Quote A Paper Zoo

How do birds and animals understand one another when we, people, can talk, but do not often get along well?Birds and animals come next to one another and whisper, but tell us only meow. (aged 10) by student in The Zaica Experiment

The Alley Boys

excerpt  3. THE INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES OF STING AND STUNG Sting and Stung came into being in a jar of mustard, on the very first morning after I'd dreamt of serpentine road bends and devils. Had it been necessary to invent a realm for them to come forth from – a

The North Pole And The South Pole

Tell me if you can contrastThe North Pole and the South Pole. But no joke and tell it fast! In the North – and keep in mind –Polar bears and foxes one can find,Penguins and their females,And I'll tell you they're no tales. The North is a sea that's ovalWhile

The Bobiners

excerptONE-EYE-SHORTOnce upon a time there was a blond pirate who had one blue eye, while the other was covered with black cloth on purpose. Because the first ship had been taken over by sparrows, the second was on the point of sharing its fate. The ship One-Eye-Short worked

Plush Plumbeous

excerpt PLUSH PLUMBEOUS RETURNS TO THE TOWN OF MORE-THAN-A-WEE-BIT Once upon a time, there was a place. It was formless and nameless, and no one had yet travelled through it on the tram. At that time, hundreds of thousands of abandoned dolls had begun to wander hither and

The Earth

If I remember well, we've never been underneath the Earth's shell. We'll take now a tour of sorts, in just a few words. The dashing prince lets himself slide all the way underground on a rope made from the bark of the tallest lime tree around. He goes down