PREFERRED PRONOUNS: WE/US/OURS
In the name of accuracy and inclusion
In the name of full disclosure
That we may say we love us and also that we hate us and be completely forthcoming
That we may wear the face of our beloved
That we may take up the first stone and smash that face to pulp
That we may be 100% right in our thinking and 100% wrong in our thinking 100% of the time
That to know us may make bile rise in our throats
That to know us may make delight bubble up into laughter
That, in our mirror, a moon glows golden
That, in our mirror, a cesspool glowers back
That whatever befalls one of us befalls all of us
That whatever we do to one of us we do to us all
That we see we are the dumpster fire we encircle to warm our greedy hands in the dark
FRANCESCA BELL is a poet and translator and the author of Bright Stain (Red Hen Press, 2019). Her work appears widely in journals such as B O D Y, New Ohio Review, North American Review, Massachusetts Review, Mid-American Review, and Prairie Schooner. She lives with her family in Novato, California.