By Hannah Ruth Roddy
–
On a twisted tree behind the moor,
A dead girl hangs, swinging like an open door.
She used to play alone in the trees and the bracken,
Mother would say “be home before the sky starts to blacken.”
One day a convict came along, his broken prison chains clanging;
When he was done, he left the dead girl hanging.
–
Birds perched around the branch, heads hung low,
Their daytime friend was now as cold as snow.
Swinging from the tree, this time by her neck,
Waiting for more of the living to discover this dead wreck.
The birds on her branch sang a song from the spring;
When they were done they left the dead girl hanging.
–
Her mother grew fearful when the sun had set,
The sky was dark and her girl not home yet.
She ran out scared to her daughter’s tree,
Discovered the hanging girl in all her lifeless glory.
Her mother wept into the grass until her eyes were bleeding;
When she was done she left the dead girl hanging.
–
Days went by and no one took her down,
A dead queen of the tree with a noose as a crown.
Her mother passed by the tree every single day,
She screamed and cried, the killer had a debt to pay.
People would stop and be shocked into staring;
When they were done, they left the dead girl hanging.
–
A month had passed and the girl was still there,
Body starting to decay, it was a horrid affair.
Her uncle helped her mother dig a grave in the soil,
They laid the girl to rest, brought an end to this turmoil.
Her mother still distraught, such a poor being,
Looked to the tree, still saw the dead girl hanging.
–
Do not think this is the end, they say the tree is cursed,
That girl wasn’t the last, it’s a shame she was the first,
A new child now plays by the haunted tree,
Harmless and sweet, running wild and free.
Can you hear that? It’s the convict’s chains clanging;
Give it time dear reader, she will be the next girl hanging.
–
Hannah Roddy is 19 and a second year student studying English and Creative Writing. Find more of her work published on Wattpad here
By Megan Levick A new exhibition celebrating female cyclists and tackling issues around women’s safety in urban spaces has launched at Manchester Central Library this month in celebration of International Women’s Day 2025. The aAh! Magazine X Lights Up Exhibition will run from 03 March to 29 March 2025 and showcases a range of multimedia…
Featured image: Alison Hall Future Media Production student Gracie Hall takes home top music photography award A Manchester Metropolitan University student has claimed a top national photography award, winning the Photographer of the Year title in the music category at the London Camera Exchange 2025. Gracie Hall, a BA Future Media Production student, impressed judges with her…
Featured image: Edward Firman There is no better combination than a good book and a hot cup of coffee; it’s the ultimate feeling of cosiness no matter the season. However, there’s something comforting about rainy days in Manchester, when the skies are gloomy and you stumble upon an independent bookstore. Over the years, bookstores have…
Featured image and gallery: Eden-Hopkins Fermo Manchester Met’s GoGlobal Week initiative continued on Wednesday with an event featuring award-winning poet Jason Allen-Paisant and acclaimed writer and Contemporary Fiction Professor Monique Roffey. Launching his first non-fiction book, The Possibility of Tenderness, Allen-Paisant and Roffey explored the themes of his memoir, dissecting his personal history and the…
Leave a reply