written for Madeleine Swann

Madeleine is a force of nature, and my reminder that words can be used for things other than poems. A prolific and extremely accomplished writer of the weird and fantastical, her books explore the fringes between reality and the darker spaces where horror, the supernatural and the surreal live happily in harmony.

You’re told to read widely and out of your comfort zones, because of the inevitable reaction it will provoke. I’ve read a fair few of Madeleine’s stories and if you enjoy looking at reality in a stylised and disquieting form, her work is very much for you.

I’d do well to try and write more poetry in that form…

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Surreal You

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your wheels and boats and onion smells
there        is nothing else and everything

you recall     the dreamlike to transcribe
that which no longer     calms the minds

that you dictate              detail’s remains
becomes     the smarter person’s frame

never aligned                         and rarely fine

when tables         weren’t for eating on
but           for hiding under          in fear

where history       is smartly wiped away
brilliant bright clean     you make appear

this is your space       perfectly sketched
with   surrealism    threaded   in between

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Poem copyright S. Reeson © 2026

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Prohibition on Use of Work in AI.

For avoidance of doubt, the Author reserves the rights to this publication. No part of this publication can be utilised or reproduced for the purposes of assisting artificial intelligence technologies. © 2026

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