This work was first published in Spread the Word’s Young Writers Collective Anthology, 2025. This anthology stands as a testament to the courage, creativity, and growth of a remarkable group of young poets who have spent seven months exploring the power of language and self-expression. The anthology is more than a collection of poems—it is a celebration of emerging voices, of stories told with boldness and vulnerability.
All of the poems can be read here on our website, or you can download the Young Writer’s Collective Anthology to read as a PDF.
Notes From A Wannabe Salamander by Simone Eligon
When a ligament tear left a black hole b
etween my ulna and humerus, I wanted to be
a salamander, tissue webbing together
to make myself anew, yet I remained
nnapped, the tendon harvested from my wrist
weak like a baby, the surgeons said, useless
to tie me back together again,
our climbing days ended,
still, I wanted to hold my frail piece,
bright white and small in my hands,
but they already threw it away,
its cries reaching for me beneath the rubbish,
as I imagine running my hands
across my body, cutting out
all four thousand tendons,
lining them across my walls,
ramrod straight, like a general, or a mother
Before her kids walk out the door,
inspect them, berate them, test them,
whisper—
Have you eaten enough?
Are you rested?
Will you come back to me?
fingertips sliding over their lips,
burying their answers in my calloused palms.
About Simone Eligon
Simone Eligon (she/her) is a South London creative with a degree in Film and Media Studies with a concentration in Screenwriting from Yale University. Her work focuses on Blackness, the body, and masculinity. When she’s not busy writing, Simone can be found in goal on the football pitch for Chatham Town FC.