A Brief Novel in the Voice of the Pandemic by Christina Veladota

The older I get, the more orphan

I become. Insomnia has taught me I’m nothing

but a body. I wear my motherhood

drenched in rumors of dark. Each ghost

is a little less accurate than the last. If you ask

me if the self is broken, I will tell you

this is not a eulogy; I am the missing

sister. No one survives me. I am

the curator of your artifact grief.

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Christina Veladota has appeared in many literary journals, including Glass: A Journal of Poetry, The Laurel Review, The Journal, Bellingham Review, Dialogist, Hotel Amerika, and Mid-American Review. The author of two chapbooks, Clutch & Brood (Aldrich Press, 2016) and The Girl & Her Lions (Finishing Line Press, 2010), I am a recipient of a 2020 Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council. Twitter: @cveladota