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The imaging test declares her "Tumor"
my embryologic twin.
But she is my sister, with a name
she once mouthed to me in dreams.

Option: surgical removal

of my own flesh,
but why?
She's been fighting
to be born.
A full head of hair now,
and her lipless mouth sprouts
the likeness of teeth.

I show my palmwhere she blooms
to our parents who
unravel before us, fall,
fall like tinkling beads.
Here is the one I never thought
I'd hold; here she is,
her entire form.

If I must sign a waiver
for the possibility of death,
I sign not one for the knife,
but for my sister's chance at life.

On my bed, I lie down
each numbered night,
face-to-face with Sister,
for there is much to teach.
Take my voice if she must
so she may speak.




Anne Carly Abad received the Poet of the Year Award in the 2017 Nick Joaquin Literary Awards. She has also received nominations for the Pushcart Prize and the Rhysling Award. Her work has appeared in Apex, Mythic Delirium, and Strange Horizons, to name a few. Her first poetry collection, We've Been Here Before, is forthcoming this February 2022 with Aqueduct Press. You can preorder the book by emailing the publisher at info@aqueductpress.com.
Current Issue
25 Mar 2024

Looking back, I see that my initial hope for this episode was that the mud would have a heartbeat and a heart that has teeth and crippling anxiety. Some of that hope has become a reality, but at what cost?
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