Valentines: “Gratitude Email to a Teacher” by Fatima-Ayan Malika Hirsi
“Holding all this joy alone felt like a crime that would see me judged harshly by the universe. It was a kind of joy I wanted to share.”
Valentines: “Bathing the Man Who Raised You” by Molly M. Pearson
“You scrub, taking care to get between his toes, each one a prayer he’ll make it another year, a rosary of skin and bone.”
Valentines: “DEAR JOHN” poems by Theo LeGro
“But all I can think about / is how I want you to hold me so tight / my breath grows branches.”