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Mathew awakes to a strange gapin his mouth, can still tastethe blood, but can’t find the toothno matter how many times his tonguecircles the landscape of his mouth.The tooth has been loose for days,wiggling and wobbling,but Mathew didn’t dare say anythingbecause his dad always talks abouttying loose teeth to aContinue Reading

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i get my saucepan readychop the washed onions & peppersuch clean tomatoes!i see my reflection in their gleaming skinsi chop them tooset the blender to 3and make a fleshly river.i place my saucepan atop mild flamepour coconut oilthen my mixtureit sizzles in the golden lightno spices now.i want it thickContinue Reading

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When you are twoNo is your favorite wordand kisses are magic.The sky is always bluewith cotton cloudsWhen it rains, you singgo away, go awayand it does. I am lifted by yourbeliefthat all is well,or will be. Kissesmake it bettereven if it still hurts. You area child of lightfor such aContinue Reading

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The meadow is a bloomwith spring colorsbirds singas if the newnesshas never happened before.A small child discovers grass.I discover joywatching him in the open fieldat the early beginning of his life–laughing as if this could go on forever.The sun sets in all its beauty,at the horizon,as if pulling an eyelidoverContinue Reading

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“You gotta sneak up on a crow,” the old man said. “They’s real smart. Crows are.”“Yes, sir,” the boy whispered and crouched low as they crept toward the cornfield. Although his grandfather was a tall man, he was bent in places where he had the “arthur-ritis” which afflicted him especiallyContinue Reading

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I want to write downeverything I know, torecord every street I’vewalked, every landscapeobjectively, but I willhave to forget what isin my heart to do it. My heart, with its mismatchedcollection of untethered emotion,swirling before my eyes, obscuringsight, placing its subjectivityover all that is, privileging itselfover every thought or tactile sensation.Continue Reading

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For Rosie, and Madalynne, and Ethan(and Bo and Ruth) Dear God,it’s February.And the light paints her pink,[and I’m still a plagiarist,]gawking into my cell phone on the side of 10th Street. My brother and I got new tattoos andI got a concussion fixing my engine andShe has my middle name,myContinue Reading

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The cries and screams of childhood gamescharge through the sulphurous airthat lounges at the old swan pond.Sometimes I swung on the swing so highI could almost see the pond down there.Here I swung on until disturbed bythe ranger coming with his evening order.Now I look back at the still-revolving roundaboutoverContinue Reading

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The spider has devoured every curdand Muffet’s started fading fast away.Rudolph’s requisitioned to the herd, and Chicken Little’s left with too little left to say. The wind once in the willows has stopped blowing.The Phantom Tollbooth’s toll is way too high.Naughty puppets’ noses have stopped growing, and Chicken Little’s stoppedContinue Reading