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MERGE LITERARY MAGAZINE
THIS BODY

By Alice Lovelace
 
wind stalks the house
like a slum land lord
like a dream out of bed
like a hundred days in any hospital
a savior sick of cleaning behind others
 
evening falls
everything but everlasting is lifted
thick air in the sick room
heavy quilts, my body in pain
 
i remember camphor and anise
castor oil and goose grease
preserved in jelly jars
in the cool of the basement
 
my dreams are winters by the space heater
trips to the pharmacy
glistening bottles of oils, of tinctures
preparing home remedies
breathe deep, be healed
 
my life is small snaps like far away thunder
the stale pungent scent of grease
kept in a can on the stovetop
soy sauce in small packets
the baby sticky like rice balls
 
my dreams are of left-over snow
crisp and lingering
unleavened bread on my tongue
the taste of holiness
my mouth full yet dry
like the cake I once baked
when we had no sugar.



  • HOME ISSUE #3
  • Mission and Content
  • About US
  • POETRY AND PROSE
  • BLACK MUSIC PHOTO ESSAY
  • ESSAYS ARTICLES AND FICTION
  • VISUAL ART GALLERY
  • BIOGRAPHIES
  • SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
  • Support Merge Literary Magazine
  • ISSUE #2 CELEBRATING BLACK WOMEN
  • FEATURED WRITERS AND ARTISTS
  • MERGE LITERARY MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION
  • Mission and Content
  • About US
  • POETRY
  • ESSAYS ARTICLES AND FICTION
  • Multimedia Art Review
  • PHOTOGRAPHY CELEBRATING BLACK WOMEN
  • ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
  • WRITERS AND ARTISTS BIOS
  • SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
  • ISSUE #1 POLITICAL AFFAIRS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
    • Mission and Content
    • About US
    • POETRY
    • PROSE
    • ART ILLUSTRATION
    • ESSAYS AND PLAY
    • MULTI-MEDIA QUILT REVIEW
    • WRITERS AND ARTISTS BIOS
    • SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
    • Support Merge Literary Magazine