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Literary Art


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When I was twelve

Liz McClure

"Kiss your Gram goodbye." My twelve-year-old
Fingers burn as they brush the slime of satin
Lining the box. She is frigid, powdered marble,
Lavished with cosmetics, a withered manikin
Holding court in a posh department store.
As I study her,

              ("It's really a blessing — she'd been so sick, you know.")

I realize she looks better than at my last
Reluctant visit to the Home. As I near her
I hear echoing from behind me Auntie's cries;
Her grieving I don't understand, and it
Frightens me. As I touch the chalky cheek with my lips,

A shudder whines in the pit of my stomach, rising
To my chest, where it rattles on my ribs
Like the haunting echo of a breath over the lips
Of an abandoned conch shell, playing a song of
Loneliness and quest.




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