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"Seated Clowness" (1896) by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec via the National Gallery of Art

by Stephanie Pritchard


This feeling is permanent,
like someone else has taken
over. Look for a way
to escape your own body.

Hours have passed.

Pushing a baby feels like hot peppers:
pressure         breath         pressure         pain

I was dying.
I could do this every day.
You can't tell the difference.

A twist against my spine like fire,
a forceful push from inside and

hours have passed.

Abdominal muscles seize, a pause
before the rest crawls out
of my skin, bone-on-bone
as their heads grind through the birth canal.

Remember this moment:
a shake.                a knock.

I left my body. I lost
my mind.
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Stephanie received her MFA in Creative Writing with a concentration in Poetry from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She teaches in the English and Creative Writing department at the State University of New York at Oswego, where she is the recipient of the Provost's Award for Teaching Excellence. Her poetry has appeared in Stone Canoe, Red Rover Magazine, The Awakenings Review, The River, Better Than Starbucks, and others.
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MASKS Literary Magazine is sponsored by the Columbia College Chicago Library and was founded as part of the Aesthetics of Research Program-an ongoing series of exhibits, events, and other shenanigans dedicated to exploring the role that libraries play in artistic process, creative community building, and resource-sharing in the arts. 
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  • Featured
  • Issue
  • Interviews
    • Melissa Meier
    • Miya Turnbull
    • Molly Yingling
    • Kate Wisel
  • Submissions
    • Guidelines
    • Contests
  • About
    • Our Mission
  • Buy