Author: Hayden Winston

Hayden Winston (né Hayden Winston Smith Jr.) is a Black, bisexual, novelist, poet, and activist. He holds a BSc in Criminal Justice and a Master of Legal Studies. His works draw on his experiences growing up in Los Angeles as a QPOC and the child of West Indian immigrants. He writes in English, French, and occasionally Kwéyòl. He resides in Northern California with his husband and their two cattle dog mixes.
Posted on

First Movement

Run to this ryhythm,

Everything is free form,

Everything is water, light, and air,

We never really touch the ground,

Don’t let the rest of it bring you down.

Posted on

Dawn

  
some things forged, meant to fade

morning light washes the slate

Posted on

Last Crow

  
Trees lay bare,

Skyline blackened out by ravenous clouds,

Yet, there is beauty still 

in the midst of darkness.

Posted on

New Year

 
Another year comes to a close,
I’ve suffered lost,
Fell and rose,
And non, je ne regrette rien –

Every moment in life is a lesson.

Posted on

Different Paths

Remember putting off comfort?
Cold hearts on cold nights,
Desperate to feel something.

Whiskey running through us,
In some place, we’d soon forget –
And yet, we danced as though it’d last forever.

When the fires began to die,
Tried to separate the truth from lies,
Reality from drug-induced psychosis.

Nonsense lives that left us bruised/cut open,
But all wounds mend,
We soldier on.

Down different roads,
Glad to have lived,
Glad to have grown.