The Wrought: An Archive of Modern Fables & Short Poems

 Welcome to The Wrought, a living archive of modern fables and contemporary micro-poetry.

These short poems are cast in an ancient mould, each turning its gaze towards the small, forgotten things we have learned to overlook.

There are no sermons here. No grand motives. No lessons shouted downhill.

There is only the exact shape of human habit, rendered in verse, ending on a line that stays.

  • The Houseplant

    The houseplant was bought to be cared for. It preferred to be forgotten.

  • The Inbox

    The inbox reached zero at four o’clock on a Friday. It lasted the length of a coffee.

  • The Queue

    Two queues stood at the supermarket. One was moving. It knew it was being watched.

  • The Password

    The brain keeps every advert jingle from 1994 in pristine condition. The password was set on Tuesday.

  • Goodhart’s Law

    The watch asked for ten thousand steps a day. It did not ask where they went, or why.

  • The Snooze Button

    The snooze button does not extend sleep. It opens negotiations.

  • Hofstadter’s Law

    The shelf was a two hour job. Hofstadter’s Law states it takes longer than expected, even when the law is taken into account. The shelf had read the law.

  • The Single Sock

    The sock went into the wash a pair and came out a philosopher.

  • The Wasp at the Picnic

    The wasp had not been invited to the picnic. The wasp did not consider this relevant.

  • The Shopping Trolley

    The trolley had three wheels in agreement and one with ideas of its own.

  • The Garden Gnome

    The gnome was given a rod and a pond and told to fish. The pond was concrete. The gnome did not complain.

  • The Wine Cork

    The cork held the wine for nineteen years and was famous for about a second and a half.

  • The Goldfish

    ): The goldfish had a memory of three seconds and a castle it discovered fresh on every lap.

  • Murphy’s Law

    Murphy observed that anything that can go wrong will. The toast had read his work closely.

  • The Coat Kept for Best

    One coat was saved for best. The other went to work. Best was a date only the closet kept.

  • The Captcha

    The form was complete. One step remained. The site wished to confirm the applicant was human. It asked him to find all the images containing a bus.

  • The Doorstep Goodbye

    The visit ended at nine, in principle. The coats went on at twenty past. The car started at five to ten.

  • The Sneaker

    A sneaker, white as morning frost, stepped out as if the world were lost.

  • The Tape Measure

    The shelf needed one measurement. A simple job. The tape measure was found in the second drawer, under the string. It agreed to come out. It did not agree to stay.

  • The Banana

    The banana arrived green and would leave brown. Between the two, it was scheduled to be perfect for roughly two hours.

  • The Monkey

    He keeps a ledger. It is not a long book. Centuries of watching, and the page is mostly margin.