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joy takes melancholy shopping

WRITTEN BY ALLISON LIU

Initially published in JUST POETRY!!!’

it wants the whole body— toenail to tonsil,

earlobe and elbow.

(please?) absurd!

i tell it so.

it frowns a little, ears

drooping like shy

sprouts in spring rain.

fine, i say. let’s share.

you get the insides,

but i get the face.

sniffling, it gazes up at

me, the picture of woe.

okay, i sigh. i suppose

you can have the eyes.

Allison Liu is a 16-year-old Chinese American writer currently studying in the Boston area. She can often be found working on her novel, photographing the unusual, and reading speculative fiction. While she is a cat person through and through, she has nothing against cute dogs. Her work has appeared in Folio Literary & Art Magazine, is forthcoming in JUST POETRY!!!, and has been shortlisted in Crashtest Magazine.

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