Gonzalo Navarro is an illustrator, sculptor,
photographer, writer…thing maker, based in New
Zealand. He is also an award nominee author with
his graphic novel Aotearoa Whispers. He works with
different media, mainly ink and watercolours, and
enjoys the magic of delivering a message without words.
Emma Cleary gained her PhD in 2015 from
Staffordshire University, where she taught English and
creative writing. Her stories have appeared in Indent
and Lighthouse. In her critical work, she writes about
jazz, cities, and maps, and has reviewed for MELUS and
Wasafiri. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Emma Cleary /
I
Choke
am outside church on one of the last shopping days before Christmas,
shrouded in a tulle veil with slight pulls in the material and several tiny holes.
There is a dying cardinal at my feet, its red feathers gaudy against the sombre
stone. What is the Christian thing to do, end its suffering? Crush the tiny ribs
under my white satin shoe?
I do nothing. I tell the corporate-looking woman dressed in navy when she
ushers me inside, but her reply is a wide, bland smile. Perhaps it’s only stunned;
perhaps it won’t die.
I am linking the arm of Joe’s boss, Mr Rickman. I think about the bird’s
black-ringed eye while we wait in the vestibule for the procession to begin. I can >>