i think i had a panic attack
in the Pret hot food section
this morning, just after nine
the numbers were dripping
from the neat paper signs
sandwiches smiled
triangle smiles
a soup pot was bleeding
a red lake grew around its base
a man in an apron
stepped between me and the shelf
and started re-shuffling food
with slim magician’s hands
i stepped back out into the sun
and ate my fingers instead
Laura Martens is based in London, UK, where she writes things and sells books. She loves skyscrapers, busy train stations and cafés with window seats. Her debut novel was published in
Germany in 2011.