This selection, chosen by Managing Editor Krista Cox, is from My Family Was Like a Russian Novel by Carla Sarett (Plan B Press 2023).
Thin Cover
When I am away, my older brother sleeps
in my bed, he hides under my thin covers.
He no longer goes to school, boys attack him there.
I shut my white door,
and leave him sheltered.
I enter his room. Every book is in order, dusted, inviolate.
I lie in his bed and I pray to the god my father mocks.
I pray until I run out of prayer.
Carla Sarett is a poet and novelist based in San Francisco. Her poetry books include She Has Visions (Main Street Rag Press, 2022) and two chapbooks, Woman on the Run (Alien Buddha Press, 2023) and My Family Was Like a Russian Novel (Plan B Press, 2023). Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart, Best of Net and Best American Essays. Carla has a PhD from University of Pennsylvania.
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