South Coast Poets Out Loud
Fresh new poetry and writing brought to you by the South Coast Writers Centre.
Season 6 features poems from 34-37 Degrees South Poetry Anthology for 2025 on the theme 'Words / No Words'.
Season 5 features poems shortlisted in the 2025 South Coast Writers Centre Awards as well as readings from Temple - the 2024 anthology of writing.
Season 3 features poets from the anthology 34-37 Degrees South - Signs 2024. Season 2 features poets shortlisted for the South Coast Writers Centre Poetry Awards 2024. Season 1 features poets from the anthology - 34-37 Degrees South - Country 2023.
All these works are brought to you by the South Coast Writers Centre celebrating 30 years of great writing in 2025 - southcoastwriters.org
South Coast Poets Out Loud
The Ghazal of No by Megan Cartwright
Megan Cartwright reads her poem 'The Ghazal of No'
This poem appears in 34-37 Degrees South 2025 - An Anthology of Poetry from members of the South Coast Writers Centre.
Fresh words brought to you by the South Coast Writers Centre
The Ghazal of ‘No’ by Megan Cartwright
Rigid; gaze cold. Many ways a body conveys no—
never so simple as whether they heard you say ‘No’.
Playing dead is not the crime; the fault is held by
hands that gripped your throat and stole away no.
Dawn breaks your will. In the light of day, perhaps
you imagined...Better a fool than prey, no?
The stories we tell have power, become shelters.
Alone, you rehearse: It didn’t happen that way, no.
You begin to believe in aberrations, safe, until
one night turns static. Hackles rising, you replay no.
You could conjure fairytales, but fantasies are
more treacherous than truth. Should you stay? No.