Sophia
Butler
Butler
POEMS
Sophia Butler is a secondary English teacher in New Zealand. She has a passion for writing and was long listed for the UK Film Festival Script Competition 2022 and for her screenplay version of DNA in 2023. She is a published poet. Her poems have been published in Dreich, London Grip, Dawntreader, Ink Sweat and Tears, Red Poets, and Poetica Review.
Writer & Poet
Night Owl
Not an early bird by nature, more a lover of candlelight and lamps —low lighting as darkness falls inducing sleep naturally when needed.
Work and lifestyle, enforces an abnormal routine, out of rhythm like a bad karaoke song gone wrong.
I coax unwilling sleep, like a sick patient force fed as darkness falls, but my active mind roams along dark corridors, through mazes reliving moments recent and long gone, until I drift restlessly in and out of consciousness, awoken abruptly by
the rising sun.
First published Dreich 2021.
Not an early bird by nature, more a lover of candlelight and lamps —low lighting as darkness falls inducing sleep naturally when needed.
Work and lifestyle, enforces an abnormal routine, out of rhythm like a bad karaoke song gone wrong.
I coax unwilling sleep, like a sick patient force fed as darkness falls, but my active mind roams along dark corridors, through mazes reliving moments recent and long gone, until I drift restlessly in and out of consciousness, awoken abruptly by
the rising sun.
First published Dreich 2021.
DNA
SOPHIA'S DEBUT NOVEL
Jake Hennessey is moved away from the only life and friends he has ever known. Although he initially finds comfort in his new Pakistani girlfriend, Ameerah, at school he feels isolated until he is befriended by the enigmatic Al, a key player in a nascent alt-right movement, England’s Own. In too deep, Jake struggles to escape the clutches of Al and the movement’s dangerous front man, Micky Gately. A family secret is uncovered and, when things take a violent turn, Jake seeks redemption.
Set in Birmingham England, DNA is Sophia Butler’s first novel. The narrative is mainly
from the point of view of its teenaged protagonist, Jake, and gives voice to many of the challenges and influences faced by young people in the 2020s.
Set in Birmingham England, DNA is Sophia Butler’s first novel. The narrative is mainly
from the point of view of its teenaged protagonist, Jake, and gives voice to many of the challenges and influences faced by young people in the 2020s.
The Halcyon Bird
Grief lingers on Mother’s birthday like her favourite perfume, reigniting loss long after she has gone, the day dedicated to Sinatra and songs that touched her heart.
Like a laser through an open door, chaos comes, green opal sweeps a flash of light, displaying feathery turquoise top and tails of electric blue, the
frantic fluttering of a visitor unused to glass panes and walls persists, until perched high on a sill, hunched up, the kingfisher surveys the room with onyx, pin top eyes.
A morphing form, compact pompom body, balayage, yellow and white with long black bill like a workman’s tool, streamlined for craft.
Windows and doors are unlocked, flung like arms wide open, allowing easy exit into vast bush and warm blue sky. The ‘halcyon bird’
ascends bestowing peace.
Grief lingers on Mother’s birthday like her favourite perfume, reigniting loss long after she has gone, the day dedicated to Sinatra and songs that touched her heart.
Like a laser through an open door, chaos comes, green opal sweeps a flash of light, displaying feathery turquoise top and tails of electric blue, the
frantic fluttering of a visitor unused to glass panes and walls persists, until perched high on a sill, hunched up, the kingfisher surveys the room with onyx, pin top eyes.
A morphing form, compact pompom body, balayage, yellow and white with long black bill like a workman’s tool, streamlined for craft.
Windows and doors are unlocked, flung like arms wide open, allowing easy exit into vast bush and warm blue sky. The ‘halcyon bird’
ascends bestowing peace.
- ‘halcyon bird’ Greek name for a Kingfisher.
NORTH STAR ACADEMY
North Star Academy, in the Far North of New Zealand, becomes the unexpected haven for troubled students Lara and Isuki.
As they join a diverse group of students with an interest in technology, their lives take unexpected turns.
Together, with a new group of friends, they uncover a dangerous secret, face personal challenges, and find their passions. With the support of mentors and friends, they strive to protect the environment and secure the future of their school.
As they join a diverse group of students with an interest in technology, their lives take unexpected turns.
Together, with a new group of friends, they uncover a dangerous secret, face personal challenges, and find their passions. With the support of mentors and friends, they strive to protect the environment and secure the future of their school.
NORTH
STAR
ACADEMY
STAR
ACADEMY