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Ephemera

A relationship advice podcaster advocating “just break up,” Sierra DeMulder champions the value of those things that exist only briefly: love, life—“every poem is about death / when you are reading to the dying”—music, dreams, seasons. She is the author of five collections, no doubt a point of everlasting pride to her wife and daughter in their upstate New York home.

THE WOMAN BEFORE ME

bless her brokenness / she who slept in your bed first
so much has taught me to hate her / to bleach
all memories from the house / but what can I do but praise her?
build an altar to her silence / the missed calls
the nights you spent waiting up / a hunger never satisfied
mistrust grown like mold under the walls / I want
to name her a harlot / heart spoiler or spilled tar
but in truth I must call her a great giver / a merciful god
a generous dam / for how poorly she held you

Reviewed by Matt Sutherland

Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

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