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Two seconds shy of
seven days,
clockwork heart capricious,
you haven’t spoken
since February or Ganymede.
Remember neverwhen?
Sol bursting
over Io,
you opened your lips
and breathed
would-be human memory
pearl bright
rolling past your tongue
oxygen the flavor of
Brunei,
Zambia,
Brazil.
Synapses kindle
and I watch.

Quiver. 

Sever.

Now
Mundus Iovialis unwinds
behind your eyes.
A gasp.
1614
Simon Marius sputtering in the dark
between Forever Sleep
and trajectory,
between earth and Jupiter,
between your left eye
and the gears of your jaw.

Three kisses.
Four.
And still, you do not see me
hovering bone bright
beside you.




Lora Gray (they/them), is a non-binary speculative fiction writer and poet from Northeast Ohio who has been published in various anthologies and magazines, including Uncanny Magazine, F&SF, and Asimov’s. Lora is also a graduate of Clarion West and a recipient of the Ohio Arts Council’s Individual Excellence Award in Fiction Writing, and has been nominated for The Pushcart Prize and the Rhysling Award. You can find Lora online at lora-gray.com.
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