Crab Orchard Review Vol. 12, No. 2, our
Crab Orchard Review Vol. 12, No. 2, our Crab Orchard Review Vol. 12, No. 2, our
from which they could beat the wow of their holiness, if not for the fact that they seem more holy not beating it. It must be this declaration of silence, & her son’s imperious pinch, & her hunch that she has become precise & governmental, that makes the mother’s eyes narrow with glory. This, & the way she can almost see you almost literally reaching out to receive the gift of her fleshy ticking boy. 148 ◆ Crab Orchard Review Christopher Matthews
Karyna McGlynn After My Fifth Birthday Party, 1982 My mother and I walk through the wet neon of the pizza palace parking lot—we wear garbage bags and carry stacks of presents draped in clear plastic. It feels somehow dangerous to be awake this late. In the car, my mother unbuttons the top of her jeans. She groans. “I’m never eating again,” she says. She turns the key in the ignition. Her tape picks up mid-strain: the Carpenters’ “Rainy Days and Mondays.” She reaches across my lap, fastens my seat belt, and then, suddenly, she clutches me fast against the flat of her breasts, her moon face pressed to mine; she is all fouled breath and desperation. She shakes me by the shoulders and says, “Oh, god, baby, don’t ever get like Karen Carpenter, okay? Promise me.” I’m ready to promise her anything. “Ok,” I say, nails clenched in a sticky fist. Crab Orchard Review ◆ 149
- Page 113 and 114: Melanie Jennings From the carsick r
- Page 115 and 116: Melanie Jennings I had stayed over
- Page 117 and 118: Melanie Jennings little louder than
- Page 119 and 120: Melanie Jennings laughter and the g
- Page 121 and 122: Bryan Tso Jones Rituals on the Day
- Page 123 and 124: Bryan Tso Jones Her bones were plac
- Page 125 and 126: Colette Jonopulos Her Boy …it is
- Page 127 and 128: Letter on Another Occasion for Arli
- Page 129 and 130: Elizabeth Langemak wears both bands
- Page 131 and 132: Donna J. Gelagotis Lee From the 21
- Page 133 and 134: Midge Raymond Water Children I foun
- Page 135 and 136: Midge Raymond expressions. I find m
- Page 137 and 138: Midge Raymond and it’s been espec
- Page 139 and 140: Midge Raymond As we enter the livin
- Page 141 and 142: Midge Raymond long time. It was ama
- Page 143 and 144: Terez Rose No Home for the Holidays
- Page 145 and 146: Terez Rose “Okay, the joke’s on
- Page 147 and 148: Terez Rose all over—the glitter,
- Page 149 and 150: Terez Rose and homemade batiks deco
- Page 151 and 152: Terez Rose The women of the village
- Page 153 and 154: Terez Rose Although she has grown u
- Page 155 and 156: Terez Rose acceptance letter from t
- Page 157 and 158: while the wedding of every evening
- Page 159 and 160: Angie Macri Then I had that lifting
- Page 161 and 162: Melanie Martin This passage grave,
- Page 163: Christopher Matthews Christmas Post
- Page 167 and 168: nested glass bubble. Sweet Somethin
- Page 169 and 170: of Hebrew earlier that day, to feel
- Page 171 and 172: Mihaela Moscaliuc I try to read my
- Page 173 and 174: Lisa Ortiz Easter Poem That sunset
- Page 175 and 176: Laura Paul Prayer for the End of Th
- Page 177 and 178: Kim Foote the only time each year t
- Page 180 and 181: 164 ◆ Crab Orchard Review Kim Foo
- Page 182 and 183: 166 ◆ Crab Orchard Review Kim Foo
- Page 184 and 185: Debra Gwartney 168 ◆ Crab Orchard
- Page 186 and 187: 170 ◆ Crab Orchard Review Debra G
- Page 188 and 189: 172 ◆ Crab Orchard Review Debra G
- Page 190 and 191: 174 ◆ Crab Orchard Review Debra G
- Page 192 and 193: 176 ◆ Crab Orchard Review Debra G
- Page 194 and 195: Sara Pennington Year of the Locust
- Page 196 and 197: Elizabeth Rees First Offering When
- Page 198 and 199: Shane Seely First Anniversary for S
- Page 200 and 201: Sylvia’s Wedding Reception Once i
- Page 202 and 203: Foot Washing I draw bath water, sti
- Page 204 and 205: Adrienne Su In Labor Those who’ve
- Page 206 and 207: Alison Townsend Unexpected Harvest
- Page 208 and 209: Ruby Slippers in memory of Richard
- Page 210 and 211: R. A. Villanueva Mine will be a bea
- Page 212 and 213: All Souls’ Day Cemetario del Nort
from which they could beat<br />
the wow of their holiness, if not for the fact<br />
that they seem more holy<br />
not beating it. It must be this declaration<br />
of silence, & her son’s<br />
imperious pinch, & her hunch that she<br />
has become precise<br />
& governmental, that makes the mother’s eyes<br />
narrow with glory.<br />
This, & the way she can almost see you<br />
almost literally<br />
reaching out to receive the gift of her<br />
fleshy ticking boy.<br />
148 ◆ <strong>Crab</strong> <strong>Orchard</strong> <strong>Review</strong><br />
Christopher Matthews
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