Election Night
Are you ready? I nodded. She slid the needle inand the sick cat, who only a moment before had tried toleap to the floor closed his eyes and exhaled. Andthat’s it, she said a little too brightly, pulling the needle out.That’s it? I asked. That’s all there is to it.
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The syringe going in, and then the pressurewhen the vet pressed the plunger, familiar,then unfamiliar, a sort of sparkling in the cornersof the cat’s eyes like fireflies in the darkening back yard—and then the sparkling grew thick and filled the air,handfuls of black glitter—
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Hours earlier, after I had voted, I found the doghad strewn garbage over the kitchen floor, the TV onloud—a commercial for pharmaceuticals. The cat wasstill alive at the vet’s. All I wanted was to lie on the…
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The American Poetry Review (Digital) - 1 Issue, September/October 2022