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from insomnia

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soap smells tangy, but/I wouldn’t eat it: scent and/nutrition diverge.

justice in obverse and reverse

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seriously: let defendants choose their coin, / execute their own calls, make their own coin flips― / attentive referee, no need for a court.

my first racist joke

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"There's a guy and he's standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon."

Girl Running Up Cherry Street, Looking For the Past

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I know I was hungry, she says to herself, maybe. I was hungry for what you had to offer. Your fast car, your dad’s ski boat, your prettiness, your beautiful mouth, your eyes, and yes for the joy you could give me between the legs. B

A Free Rinse

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“Turn the fucking thing off!” I yelled above the noise. “It’s fucking New Year’s morning!”

Admission

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I can’t hold a job I can’t hold a hammer

You Can Wear Skinny Jeans

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He looks at me again, this time glancing down at my skinny jeans, “And... are you a single mom?” he seems to think he has it right, taking a last look at my aquamarine colored pants and the tapered area around my calves.

City Meat

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Of red snappers, flaccid on porcelain slabs...

As Poetry Month Ends, Prosaic Types Get Their Turn

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“I’m going,” O’Bannon-Krim says with exasperation as she throws trinkets such as Dylan Thomas beer coozies and Edna St. Vincent Millay hair scrunchies into a cardboard box.

Text Adventure

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Twenty-two tornadoes tore through Toronto, spiraling steel and stone to the streets where she stood, texting her best friend.

Touchstone: Excerpt 2.

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The only promotion I can do. Excerpts from the most recent book.

The Writing On the Wall Has Been Covered by Graffiti

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The graffiti has grown so large It has covered everything we know and love It has covered the windows, shutting out the light And it’s all about leaving your mark The ones who are living outside your walls Have grown worried about leaving th

Feb 1

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On our wedding day he carried all of the furniture out of our small bedroom, created a sanctuary.

31 & 32

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Many hours to make a brick: many bricks to make a curve.

During My Daily Commute

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in moving cars i am small; in moving cars i am invisible.

Acknowledgements

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I sit in a café and watch the near palms of summer swaying against the far ridge of hills and young girls walking along in their sleeveless summer dresses. Their shoulders speaking their long history of sex and future children,

RINSE AND OXIDATION

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...listening to the ache of errs our mouths had become.

Fine, she said

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A rope is cleaner, he explains with a straight face. He's calmed by the visual.

(On Tuesday...)

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On Tuesday, he wears his suit to the cafe. Of course they'll let him pay! Of course. Under the table, his wife accepts their wadded bills.

The Gift

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She reached under the tissue and pulled out a third gift. “It’s like peeling open my heart,” he said, “one layer for each year.”

Parting Gifts

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His hair was well groomed. The skin was radiant like apples tossed at the moon. The gym membership was well used, as the weight issue was easily cast into an abyss of loaded memories.

Fifty-One

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Several friends—hers and his—hung around the edges of their marriage, and it would be naive to rule out the possibility of a few stray affairs. The thought didn’t anger him; on the contrary it amused him as if it were some trivia question, the answe

Puerility

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--So, why are you here?

One Black Wheel

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"..squeezing her eyes and mouth tightly."

Round the World Now

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It's true that he had always been more pure than her, looking for the authentic experience, authentic food. And more adventurous. Blogging their way around the world, yes, that had been his idea . . .

boardwalk

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coast to coast

Her Head Sounserals Away

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"Bortne! Bortne! Shushort!" she exclaims, shooting her hands over her wobbly head in pleasure, causing it to again pop off. This time, it's a three story drop from a balcony. Terrified, he yells "Sneeeeew nuuuu! Oh nee padoooo!"

The Unknowable

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He’d tossed and turned all night, pondering what to do, afraid she was living alone. He’d decided to email her two words: “Love you” and signed it “Scary Sal,” as she’d always seemed so afraid of him.

The Imprint of Necessity

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I’ll tell you what I think, I think Their hopes of a brush with love Is what keeps the simple cricket Awake all night If you find a baby cricket on its back Fallen on the sidewalk Struggling with its legs In the air Help it to its fee

Today It Rains

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I chose coming away because here at least I feel good — and it makes me feel I am growing very tall and straight inside — and very still — Maybe you will not love me for it — but for me it seems to be the best…