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Patty Seyburn
Aye! And what then? I am taking applications for the Position ofColeridge in My Life. The job is part-timebut the hours are quixotic. The candidateshould be a strong meanderer and terriblygood friend, with an ear for iambics.Of course, this person should be a betterpoet than I am but wear it lightly. I willkeep the amulet that guards against envyin my left palm at all times. It is chalcedony,the chameleon of mendacious minerals.Own a walking stick, nothing too hoary.Candidate must know someone from Porlockand enjoy a good potluck. Loquacityrequired, as is a penchant for great birds.Appropriate anxiety concerning water-sports.Pay is meager but the benefits are mostlyimaginary. Office in a measureless cavern.…
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Lisa Alvarez
the heavy weather of childhood the soft old maps in the glove compartmentthe ones we unfolded trying to find our way our car coatsthe unregistered cars the stepfathers and their first childrenthe fathers we never met the mother who forgot our namesthe grandmother who never told us hers where are your people fromthe new neighbors would demand my sisters had no answerwe had no people all we knew was herewhere we had never been before even when we lefteven when we came back forever Lisa Alvarez’s essays, stories, and poems have appeared in Air/Light, Citric Acid, Huizache, Santa Monica Review and elsewhere. She has edited three anthologies, most recently Why…
