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"Liberty (1)" by Emanuela Iorga

I fill up by Sanvitti Sahdev

Homes bloom
in the back of my throat
when the world is smothered
into a soupy morning
& I am pulling apart hours
with thick fingers.
A milkman floats
across the front gate,
shattering the tension.
Piles of fruit peels collect
on my balcony and sing
to light filled cities. It is all
romance: home, hunger,
the places I do not visit
because of what lingers
on the walls like mildew.
I get jealous of people’s ability
to find absolution 
in my angry religion.
I am working on slinking away
less. Going on the internet 
to find it dripping 
with answers. Waiting
for someone to tell me
I look pretty tonight
already. I am feeling holy. 
I’ve gathered several 
realities and together
we can pick one that’s not
fat with fear. I only
feel completely alive
when forced to return
to my teenage bedroom
and plot my escape to a place
I can be more sedated.
When I get bad news,
I say I need to eat:
Shove spoonfuls of warm milk
in my mouth. I will find
my answer when I am full.


Sanvitti Sahdev grew up in Delhi, India and currently lives in Houston, Texas. She recently graduated from Rice University where she was co-editor-in-chief of its literary journal.

​Emanuela Iorga is a filmmaker, artist, and screenwriter, who lives in Chisinau, Moldova. Art represents for her a recently rediscovered passion, following a series of world and inner changes. Her work can be found at https://manolcaincosmos.wordpress.com/270-2/
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