No one around, pre-dawn, below zero. It's January. Air thick and still. Fire face down in the coals. Dog barks frozen in their jaws....

Elizabeth M Castillo is a British-Mauritian poet, writer and language teacher. She lives in Paris with her family and two cats.

Connate Our seaside, soft brine lapping, rushing our curves, our keels and bows. Sun froths those tides, warms our foam; tides pour dark...