“The Ribcage Explains (Again) Why It Never Votes” and “The Ribcage Dreams of Dancing on a Grave (or Two)” are just two of five wonderfully surreal & acutely affecting ribcage-themed poems by J. Bradley in our Fall 2017 issue. 

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“The Ribcage Explains (Again) Why It Never Votes”

YOU GERRYMANDERED YOUR HEART
where only the wolves of his name
are allowed to live. They have the facts
and still they vote to gnaw the marrow
out of you. What’s the point of this story,
this lover asks. You peel back your blanket,
show him the gore in waking up alone.

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“The Ribcage Dreams of Dancing on a Grave (or Two)”

YOU IMAGINE THE DECAYING BODY trying to pry open
his sick box, figure out what is the noise above
his forever home. You practiced this moment,
from your dance steps to casing the cemetery
for when the least amount of cars drive by.
You deserve this, you say, your tips piercing
the dirt. This is where you belong.

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J. BRADLEY is the author of the forthcoming flash fiction collection Neil & Other Stories (Whiskey Tit Books, 2018). He lives at jbradleywrites.com.