by Sara Backer

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We gather folding chairs around a fire pit
in gravel and weeds, the sun ripening
orange as we pass a rough joint, sandpaper
in my windpipe. I get an idea for a poem
and pull my tiny notebook from my pocket.
What was I going to write?

I stall out mystified
by the extra hand
in my jacket sleeve.

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Sara Backer’s first book of poetry, Such Luck (Flowstone Press), follows two poetry chapbooks: Scavenger Hunt (dancing girl press) and Bicycle Lotus (Left Fork). Her honors include a prize in the 2019 Plough Poetry Prize Competition, nine Pushcart nominations, and fellowships from the Norton Island and Djerassi resident artist programs. She reads for The Maine Review. Recent publications include Lake Effect, Slant, CutBank, Poetry Northwest, Poetry Ireland, and Kenyon Review.

Mirjana M. are a digital artist and writer from Belgrade, Serbia. Their work focuses on exploring the juxtaposition of various elements through mixed media of photography, double exposure, textures and light. Their work most often explores concepts of duality and has appeared in Gulf Stream Literary, The Good Life Review, waxing & waning magazines and other places. You can see more of their work at their blog olorielmoonshadow.wordpress.com