Mia Broecke
I Fail to Save Him, Version 3
Jo Blair Cipriano
In this one my brother is dead but he’s coming back in 7 to 10 business days.
Death asks if I want my brother gift-wrapped.
It doesn’t cost extra so I say yes. Why not.
It doesn’t mean he’ll stay longer this time, says Death
and I ignore him. When my brother arrives,
I draw the ribbon off slowly. I guide
his face through the safest parts
of my hands. There are cactus needles
where his teeth should be. The impermanence of him
reaches me in a whisper. I press my ear to his cheek.
I need him. Please. I need him.
How long this time? I ask.
Behind us Death dances. Teeth explode
in the air like confetti. My brother’s eyes
open and another man is behind them.
I could die now and never forget this.
Jo Blair Cipriano is the winner of a 2023 Academy of American Poets Prize. They have received support from Tin House, The Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, and Brooklyn Poets, and are a 2023 Pushcart Prize nominee whose work can be found in The Rumpus, Poets.org, Copper Nickel, Gulf Coast Journal, and elsewhere. A former college dropout, Jo is now an MFA candidate at the University of Arizona, where they are a 2023 Southwest Field Studies in Writing fellow and poetry editor of Sonora Review.