‘Origami’ by Aoife Lyall

Origami
from a single cell
folded
and unfolded
you are art and science
the maths

cannot explain
you you cannot exist
without it
minute by hour
day by week
your folds unfurl
lily
swan
fortune teller
leaping frog
the folds in
your ears
a secret
passed down
through
your father’s
father’s
father’s

From issue #6: spring/summer 2018

About the Author
Aoife Lyall’s debut collection Mother, Nature (Bloodaxe Books, 2021) explores the tender and tragic experience of pregnancy and early motherhood. The writing of her second collection is being supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland. Aoife lives in the Scottish Highlands with her family.