Two sides
to every
skill, a
skull
on one, on
the other a
leafless
tree. What is
life
supposed to
feel
like, bare
skin?
Draped cloth,
an ingenious
alphabet
of folds,
peaches
in a bowl are
macho.
Who let him
borrow
her kitchen?
The smell
of his oils,
her
domain.
Kirstin Allio won the Catherine Doctorow Innovative Fiction Prize from FC2 for her new story collection, Double-Check for Sleeping Children, coming out in 2024. Previous books are the novels Garner (Coffee House Press), Buddhism for Western Children (University of Iowa), and the story collection Clothed, Female Figure (Dzanc). Her awards and honors include fellowships from Brown University’s Howard Foundation and MacDowell. She lives in Providence, RI.
