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the last time you gasped
by Jason Clemmons
for air,
do you remember
​
someone kneeling on your
anthem
neck squeezed brittle crack of
pronouns
breathing split into a thousand
rainbows?
was the dog in your belly
barking
for ancestors named and
nameless
digging up their bones to show the
children
who only need to see
you
who only need to see you
live?
Jason Clemmons is a Tar Heel poet and long-time university administrator with works appearing in Slippery Elm, Havik, Fifth Wheel Press, new words {press}, and Sheila-Na-Gig. His writing reflects his experience as a gay man in the US South, often touching on themes of memory, family, and resiliency. Jason lives in central North Carolina with his husband Peter.
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