Kristin Garth is a Pushcart, Best of the Net & Rhysling nominated sonnet stalker with sonnets in magazines like Glass, Yes, Five:2:One, Luna Luna and more. She is the author of twelve books of poetry including Dewy Decimals (Arkay Artists 2020) and Flutter: Southern Gothic Fever Dream (TwistiT Press 2020) Follow her on Twitter: (@lolaandjolie) and her website http://kristingarth.com

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Spectrophilia

You never were alone in life. A doll

dissected with a pearl handled knife — held,

allotted days inside crocheted shawl, all

communal gifts since you were small. She fell

into an early grave, the half of you

who won’t be saved. A heart conjoined

severed by rot, you stalk in holes dug, new,

the family burial plot. Adjoined

cadavers in longleaf pines. Love and lust

robust inside your wounded mind — for ghosts

no longer humankind. Seek, dirty, dusk

two apparitions you never find. Most

days dialogue with moths, unbodied doll.

You whisper kisses which never enthrall.

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