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Lannie Stabile

And you unearth a photograph of your past and a stranger. . .

You must have been
three or four years old
Pastel and towheaded
 
Your mother is there,
youthfully stoic
Your face registers distrust,
even while your tiny hand rests
deadenly on the shoulders
of a man in prison-issued khakis
His thin fingers choke your thigh
as he squeezes your body into
the cold space between him
and your mother
 
And you ask her who the man is
But she will only say
that’s Ron Bailey
 
So, you Google the name
and learn the arms
that rocked you to sleep
once strangled two small boys
 
The thought doesn’t invade
until the memories do
You remember lovers’ necks
and the preoccupation of pulse
Your clumsy hips
toppling a television
onto a litter of newborn kittens
Claws hovering
over the unsuspecting back
of a friend at an intersection
As the truck lumbers by,  
you shake your head and ask
what the hell am I doing?
 
You think of his captured
hands, pressing into the pink
ruffles of your flesh, and it is
in that moment you first wonder
about the transference of sin

Biography

Picture
Lannie Stabile (she/her), a queer Detroiter, often says while some write like a turtleneck sweater, she writes like a Hawaiian shirt. A finalist for the 2019/2020 Glass Chapbook Series and semifinalist for the Button Poetry 2018 Chapbook Contest, she is usually working on new chapbook ideas, or, when desperate, on her neglected YA novel. Works can be found, or are forthcoming, in Glass Poetry, 8 Poems, Monstering, The Hellebore, Honey & Lime, and more. Lannie currently holds the position of Managing Editor at Barren Magazine and is a member of the MMPR Collective.
 
Twitter handle: @LannieStabile 
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ISSN 2639-426X
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  • Home
  • About
    • Contributors List
    • KD's Blog
    • Award Nominations
    • Support
    • Contact
  • Press
  • Issues
    • Issue 49
    • Issue 48
    • Issue 47
    • Issue 46
    • Issue 45
    • Issue 44
    • Issue 43
    • Issue 42
    • Issue 41
    • Issue 40
    • Issue 39
    • Issue 38
    • Issue 37
    • Issue 36
    • Issue 35
    • Issue 34
    • Issue 33
    • Issue 32
    • Issue 31
    • Issue 30
    • Issue 29
    • Issue 28
    • Issue 27
    • Issue 26
    • Issue 25
    • Issue 24
    • Issue 23
    • Issue 22
    • Issue 21
    • Issue 20
    • Issue 19
    • Issue 18
    • Serenity
    • Issue 17
    • The Audio Room
    • Issue 16
    • Issue 15
    • Issue 14
    • Play It Again
    • Issue 13
    • Issue 12
    • Issue 11
    • Issue 10
    • Issue 9
    • Issue 8
    • Issue 7
    • Issue 6
    • Hand to Mouth
    • Issue 5
    • Issue 4
    • Issue 3
    • Issue 2
    • Issue 1
  • Submissions