Jessica Lights the Candles​

Issue 5

She does it when Lorenzo is not home,
she does it when he is not looking.
 
As soon as it had happened,
she knew it was the wrong thing to do.
She is convenient for him;
he will never say he loves her.
 
But she thinks she must endure, now,
living on the smallest lights and warmths.
 
Surging currents threaten breath; 
canals wait.

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KENDRA PRESTON LEONARD is inspired by history, language, and the mythopoeic. Her chapbook Making Mythology was published in 2020 by Louisiana Literature Press, and her novella in verse, Protectress, was published in 2022 by Unsolicited Press.

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