Profiled
Sara Sheldrake
she starts at my ankle
works up my leg
strokes my shoulders, back, abdomen
an illicit rush. She saw me
thinks I might live
a life
of risk
a life where hidden inside me
are secrets
worth more than my life, that could explode
leave me mad or dead
and in that moment, I wish
that instead of carrying Pac-a-macs and sunscreen and antihistamines
of lists and rule following and multivitamins and plasters
I lived the life
that made her want to touch me
Sara earned a Creative Writing Masters from the University of Lancaster and the Chancellor’s Medal and Best Portfolio Prize.
Her stories have been published in anthologies by Praspar Press and the Writer’s Workout, as well as the National Flash Flood and The Amphibian.
In September 2024, she will begin a Creative Writing PhD at the University of Suffolk specializing in historic fiction.