Cover Art: Milton Avery, Three Figures and a Dog. 1943. Oil on canvas. SFMOMA.

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Fine, Thank You

I don't remember what was wrong. A small thing,

childish. Coming back from midnight mass,
family in the kitchen, hors d'oeuvres spread
on the table. A day to rejoice,
but all I could do was cry.
No one noticed but him.

In the hall, he took my shoulder and asked,
Ce e? I wanted to say but didn't know
how to admit I didn't know what to say.

He’d bitten a nurse at the hospital.
Thought she was me, cried the night
and said he was sorry.

Now, when I remember him, I remember
not the jokes or songs or the way he'd answer

Fine, thank you! because it rhymed with the question.

I remember that Easter night in the hall
when he asked How are you?
and I answered, Not telling.

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Raluca Balasa holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Nevada-Reno. Her approach to writing is character-oriented, often dealing with love-hate relationships, antiheroes, and antagonists who make you agree with them. Her short work has appeared in Andromeda Spaceways, Aurealis, Psychopomp, and Grimdark Magazine, among others. When she's not writing, she can be found playing the piano or spilling things. 

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