“Do you have any pets?”
ACE BOGGESS
My cat died in prison.
Scratch that. Rephrase.
My cat died while I was
in prison. No, not right.
My cat didn’t die while I was
in prison—likely enjoyed
a long, healthy life without me,
which feels like death,
like he followed a laser dot
to Nirvana while I was
in prison, his oil-slick fur
to me a velvet curtain
covering thought. I haven’t
had another since &
I am senseless, lonely
as a caged rabbit,
which is what I was
in prison, animals around me
screaming "Mother!" in the night.
—question asked by Brenda Seabrook
Ace Boggess is author of six books of poetry, most recently Escape Envy. His writing has appeared in Indiana Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Notre Dame Review, Hanging Loose, and other journals. An ex-con, he lives in Charleston, West Virginia, where he writes, watches Criterion films, and tries to stay out of trouble. His forthcoming books include poetry collections, My Pandemic/Gratitude List from Mōtus Audāx Press and Tell Us How to Live from Fernwood Press, and his first short-story collection, Always One Mistake from Running Wild Press.
The debut issue of Sabr Tooth Tiger Magazine. 6×9 paperback, 134 pages.
Poetry by: David Agyei-Yeboah, Maude B., Madeline Blair, Ace Boggess, Ashlee Craft, Zach Crosswait, Zoë Davis, Gavin DuBois, Mal Grace, Erica Hasselbach, Asmi Kartikeya, Daithí Kearney, Maëlle Keita, Ayesha Khan, Emma Lee, Juan Madrigal, Faisal Mohyuddin, Phoebe Nerem, Benjamin Niespodziany, Vaghawan Ojha, Samuel Plauché, Colette Postaer, David Raygoza, Tori Rego, Maddy Rowe, Patricia Russo, Satori, Ayden Scott, Brandon Shane, Sameen Shakya, Anca Varvara-Piccozzi, Ethan Viets-VanLear, Rebecca Watson, Jenny Whidden, gray lindsey, Ammara Younas, Zaid Zaheer
Prose by: B.E. Austin, Johnzee Baptiste, Rohit Karir, Sara Muttar, Sarah R. New, Anna Nguyen, Farhan Nurdiansyah, Eli Sugerman, Dylan Terry
Art by: Fatima B., Bea Bouman, Nathan Doty, Bushra Khan, mahnoor, Zafar Malik, Stefanie Reinhart
Please note that copies are printed-to-order and can take up to one month to be delivered.