top of page

Career Opportunities

By T. J. Dennett



Last night's vodka wishes sit granted at the bottom

of a wastepaper basket, as clothes lie abandoned

like dead effigies across the bedroom carpet.

A headache groans as she checks for her phone

for messages on Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter.

Pulling the sheets over her face, her tongue

kisses the familiar taste on her lips:

masculine, bitter.

Three floors below a pigeon spreads rumours

to passing students in the breeze,

about how she teased his religion

and his sense of humour, but got down on her knees;

brushing her finger through the hairs from his navel,

to the belt on his jeans.

They called her Riley because she'd done it on a snooker table.

The morning sky glows brighter than the hair of Patsy Palmer

as she examines the evidence

like a detective drama;

searching for clues within the threads

of her cotton pyjamas.

Her hangover triggers a memory that comes thick and fast,

like a strawberry jelly, as she reaches for a glass

of water and places her hand on her belly.

Six months later, head bowed in pretend prayer

over library tables; revising for exams,

she sees her future ahead of her:

rocking cradles and pushing prams.





T. J. Dennett is a writer and performer from Northamptonshire, England. He lives with his wife, daughter and their Labrador.


Comments


Commenting on this post isn't available anymore. Contact the site owner for more info.
23_edited.png
  • Grey Twitter Icon

© 2025 Hearth and Coffin Literary Journal.

Hearth & Coffin logo design by Shaun Dorris.

bottom of page