AFTERLIFE
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AFTERLIFE

Laura Kuhn, M.F.A., English Department Adjunct My mother holds forth at the table,tracing dirty plates with a moistened finger —licking the crumbs she swipes from one plate, then another.Savoring it all;nobody’s watching.My father, in the next room, watches a game.He takes no part in the conversation, but interjectscorrections to let her know he’s there.The mighty…

TOPaz
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TOPaz

They just gave me a new placement. It was a shock, becauseI thought things were fine where I was. But you never know aboutplacements; the general wisdom is there is no way to understand them.So I am upset about the move, even though it looks good so far—theyput me in a room of my own,…

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A Love Affair

I’m having a love affair with my pillow.No matter how many times it doubles in size—soaked with the weight of my problems—or I smear all my makeup from another long day,or I scrunch and I squish it this way and that,it loves me back.Every night, it cradles my face,and for hours while I dream—helpless and…

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Pomatomus Saltatrix

Pomatomus saltatrix, you showed me how to loveIn lapping of the waves against the gallows’ posts aboveThe gentle bay, forever clear, where barnacles sing ofA heaven freed of ugliness and brutal death thereofThe fisher boy had broken yet like tawny August dawnA tiny speck of cold and sweat dripped slowly down uponA bare yet gilded…