Dina Folgia
I dreamt my parents were together but still I was the one yelling
trumpet-mute cries from my clogged mouth
the static of my summer friend mosquito
three decibels quieter than my rage
my mother says something segmented
toddler-like, akin when eyes are open to:
dina stop
autism
autism?
autisming?
but mother I can’t
not when the noise already stops here
right where the seam between dream-life
and waking folds at my lips
a single speech-cancelling pucker
my father cries silent on the floor
as if he gave his last sounds to me
to puff away through jelly-air
viscous with misunderstanding
they say that in dreams if you
have not experienced something awake
your mind
creates the closest
falsest
approximation
I have never screamed raw
never parted thick ocean with
my salt-bubble-breath
I will not let
my blown-throat
fill
or empty
the static of my summer friend mosquito
three decibels quieter than my rage
my mother says something segmented
toddler-like, akin when eyes are open to:
dina stop
autism
autism?
autisming?
but mother I can’t
not when the noise already stops here
right where the seam between dream-life
and waking folds at my lips
a single speech-cancelling pucker
my father cries silent on the floor
as if he gave his last sounds to me
to puff away through jelly-air
viscous with misunderstanding
they say that in dreams if you
have not experienced something awake
your mind
creates the closest
falsest
approximation
I have never screamed raw
never parted thick ocean with
my salt-bubble-breath
I will not let
my blown-throat
fill
or empty
Biography
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Dina Folgia (she/her) is an MFA candidate at Virginia Commonwealth University. She was an honorable mention for the 2021 Penrose Poetry Prize, and a 2020 AWP Intro Journals Project nominee. Her work appears (or will be appearing) in Ninth Letter, South Florida Poetry Journal, Defunkt Magazine, and Sidereal Magazine. She is a poetry editor for Storm Cellar. Follow her writing journey on Twitter: @dinafolgia
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