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THE SMALLEST OF BEASTS
after Little Girl in a Blue Armchair by Mary Cassatt
You will own redundant matching chairs, small
beasts to nap beside you unawares of
decades you were not left alone at all
by depressives deprived their alcohol. Love
was bartered for your battery. Hunched
in places hoping they wouldn’t see, a
tiny, spiny animal amongst
two great grey owls, you dreamt of days
of peace inside a wood no one prowls,
exposing your belly, legs akimbo
in Tartan socks, a petulant scowl
in an oversized bow. You couldn’t know
you will furnish a forest of your own
in which the smallest of beasts are left alone.
Kristin Garth is a Pushcart, Rhysling nominated sonneteer and a Best of the Net 2020 finalist. Her sonnets have stalked journals like Glass, Yes, Five:2:One, Luna Luna and more. She is the author of 21 books of poetry including Crow Carriage (Sweet Tooth Story Books) and The Stakes (Really Serious Literature) and the editor of seven anthologies. She is the founder of Pink Plastic House a tiny journal and co-founder of Performance Anxiety, an online poetry reading series. Follow her on Twitter: (@lolaandjolie) and her website kristingarth.com
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