Tag Archives: Billie-Leigh Burns

BILLIE-LEIGH BURNS: Valhalla-ween

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

My brethren’s rotting corpses litter the plucked marsh, victims of the elements – an easier demise than mine.

First, I’m scalped.

Then, my organs are scooped out with a spoon.

Finally, with gouged eyes and a toothless mouth, I’m set on fire, my body paraded like a trophy on some doorstep.

Billie-Leigh Burns is a writer from Liverpool. Her work has been featured by 50 Word Storues, 101 Words, Funny Pearls, and The Hooghly Review. She is also a maths tutor and a bookkeeper, making her the only writer she knows who owns an ‘I Heart Spreadsheets’ mug.

BILLIE-LEIGH BURNS: We Need To Talk

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

He always corners you in the kitchen with, “What did you want to talk about?”

Under pressure of expectations and the sizzling stove, your resolve melts like the butter in the frying pan.

You serve him a plate of, “Nothing!” and eat your own heart out with a side salad.

Billie-Leigh Burns is a writer from Liverpool. Her work has been featured by 50 Word Stories, 101 words, Funny Pearls, and The Hooghly Review. She is also a maths tutor and a bookkeeper, making her the only writer she knows who owns an ‘I Heart Spreadsheets’ mug.

BILLIE-LEIGH BURNS: Dead Batteries in the Smoke Detector at 3:15 AM

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Crimson eye glowing on the square tiled ceiling, three left, four down – five east of the lampshade. Does it blink or wink? I wonder, while it paints the room maroon, making shadows crawl across the walls, illuminating your empty side of the bed.

At least one of us sleeps tonight.

Billie-Leigh Burns is a writer from Liverpool. Her work has been featured by 50 Word Stories, 101 Words, Funny Pearls, and The Mersey Review. She is also a bookkeeper, making her the only writer she knows who owns an ‘I Heart Spreadsheets’ mug.

BILLIE-LEIGH BURNS: There’s No Place Like Home

Artistic, Submissions, ,

Sunrise blinds your tired eyes, you do your nine-to-five, but home time feels different. You overcomplicate your thoughts, hobbies don’t bring joy anymore; you drink until you think you’ll drown, to beat the thief of sleep. There’s no more home to go to when you know there’s no one there.

Billie-Leigh Burns is a writer from Liverpool. Her work has been featured by 50 Word Stories, 101 Words, Funny Pearls and The Mersey Review. She is also a bookkeeper, making her the only writer she knows who owns an ‘I Heart Spreadsheets’ mug.

BILLIE-LEIGH BURNS: Fork in a Dead-end Road

Artistic, Poetry, Submissions, , , ,

Crossroad demon in a three-piece suit: “Initial the pages and fill in the blanks.”
And I’m supposed to say, “Thanks,” like I have a choice.
Poisoned ink dries on the page, as I sign my life away. Just some more bones to build your throne, another soul under your control.

Billie-Leigh Burns is a writer from Liverpool. Her work has been featured by 50 Word Stories, Funny Pearls, and Mersey Review. She is also a bookkeeper, making her the only writer she knows who owns an ‘I Heart Spreadsheets’ mug.

BILLIE-LEIGH BURNS: The Lighthouse

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

On this dark night, a man roams the beach, eyeing the abandoned lighthouse – once a beacon guiding wave-ravaged boats home, sea-savaged soldiers conjuring the strength to set burning arms to oars again.

He longs to break in, to light up the sky, searching for his wife, nestled in the stars.

Billie-Leigh Burns is a writer from Liverpool. Her work has been featured by Funny Pearls, 50 Word Stories, and Fictionette.

BILLIE-LEIGH BURNS: St. Sebastian’s Choir Boys at Christmas Eve Mass

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

A decade ago, Christmas Eve was wild – 4 AM port when we had finished the wine.

Now, I hold my tinsel-clad daughter, her tinfoil-star headband askew. You film our son bellowing Silent Night along with other offkey five-year-olds, presents to wrap when we get home.

4 AM port’s still fun with you.

Billie-Leigh Burns is a writer from Liverpool. Her work has been featured in 50 Word Stories, Fictionette, and Naked Cat Lit Magazine.

BILLIE-LEIGH BURNS: Ashes of Yesterday

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

I set fire to the past by burning photographs, old diaries, and your heart-shaped pendant – a shackle around my wrist until now. Doused you in alcohol and watched as the flames consumed you.

And yet you still persist.

In the dulling embers, buried in yesterday’s ashes, your heart still lingers.

Billie-Leigh Burns is a writer from Liverpool. Her short stories and flash fiction have been published by Fictionette, 50 Word Stories, and Naked Cat Lit Magazine. She is currently working on a novel set in a dystopian future.

BILLIE-LEIGH BURNS: Snails Are Just Slugs With the World on Their Shoulders

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

A snail slicks up the wall, passes the hose-tap after morning coffee, reaches the sill as I grasp seconds of solitude. After the toddler storm of bedtime, I watch it scale the window.

With a flick, my husband resets its progress, announcing, “You forgot the laundry.”

It starts over tomorrow.

Billie-Leigh Burns is a writer from Liverpool. Her short stories and flash fiction have been published by Fictionette and Naked Cat Lit Magazine. She is currently working on a novel set in a dystopian future.