With My Teeth

by Craig Seip

With My Teeth

When your mother tells you
            she thinks
            she might be
gay
            because she’s
never gotten wet
for your dad,
            there opens this long,
slowly bending arc,
            that separates the child you had been,
and who you are now.

We sit in the living room,
            air thick with Merit 100s’ woody scent,
TV droning,
            you complain about dad,
            hint at divorce,
and I preen you,

wrap your hair in curlers,
            watch the cigarette’s trail
            curl
            into the orange light
of the heavy lampshade,

splitting bobby pins
            with my teeth like you
            taught me.

---

Poet Craig Seip (he/him) has been writing poems since he was 14. Craig, his partner, and two children are an adoptive family in Evanston, IL. A distance runner who enjoys time with family, including their dog and two cats, Craig finds himself writing most about place, memory, family, mental illness, and identity.

Artist Asem Moustafa Ahmed (he/him) is a New Jersey-based artist specializing in painting, portraiture, and figure drawing, with additional interests in sculpture, printmaking, and jewelry-making. Born in Marrakech, Morocco, and of Egyptian heritage, Asem moved to Jersey City at the age of nine. Immersed in the vibrant visual cultures of North Africa and inspired by the diversity of his new home, he developed a deep passion for art from an early age. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and later earned his Master’s degree from the New York Academy of Art, studying under artists such as Dan Thompson, Mario A. Robinson, and Randolphlee McIver. Asem now works from his studio, creating richly textured and expressive works that celebrate the color, form, and spirit of the world around him. You can find more of his work on his website: http://www.asemfineart.com/.