in the story your ex tells himself

olivia braley

three micro-poems

Not to be Reproduced. René Magritte.

in the story your ex tells himself

he is the hero
or the victim. and you, you’re
the villain. always.

during the storm

when it comes down hard enough, water leaks in through the chimney,
floods my metaphors. lightning jagged-cracks open the sky
like an egg on the lip of a bowl. i scramble two with spinach
and goat cheese for dinner. outside, the rain hushes everything.

vulva

this physical fleshy word / that hangs on the tongue / throbs guttural in the
back of the throat / this lovely latinate that like us all begins with its source in womb / that grew from the verb volvere which means “to turn, twist, roll, revolve,” but also “to turn over in the mind, to ruminate” / a distant root that also conceived evolve and revolution / so that these words share a singular origin / they are born from the same ancient mother

 Olivia Braley is a mostly-poetry writer living in Annapolis, Maryland. She is a co-founder and Editor in Chief of Stone of Madness Press, and a Reader at Longleaf Review. Keep up with her work on Twitter @OliviaBraley.