Instructions for Lucretia

Instructions for Lucretia

 

Take a spoonful of sugar for the hiccups
Dash his brains into his mouth
Map the stretch marks on your thighs
Stay grounded by looking up
Inhale the sky
Avoid long speeches
Call your mother, talk about the day you were born
Admit to nothing
Open the window and roll the sun between your fingers
Laugh until it hurts
Until you cry
Cry
Measure your comfort in crow miles,
the distance between your life and honour
Wear your jewels to bed
Don’t make or ask for promises
Slice open the underbelly of every cloud
Let it rain
Let them drown.

 

Ceramic book by Marla Benton titled "The Secrets to Survival"

The Secrets to Survival by Marla Benton (ceramic)

 

Listen to Hollay Ghadery read “Instructions for Lucretia.”

 

About Hollay Ghadery

Hollay Ghadery is a writer living in small-town Ontario. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Her fiction, non-fiction, and poetry have been published in various literary journals, including The Malahat Review, Room, CAROUSEL, Grain, and The Fiddlehead. Her memoir, Fuse, was published with Guernica Editions’ MiroLand in Spring 2021.

About Marla Benton

Marla Benton is a clay artist and educator living and working from her studio in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. She holds degrees from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, the Ontario College of Art and Design (BFA), and Nipissing University (BED). Clay is an art form that allows for function and sculpture to mix or be completely separate - a piece can be simultaneously practical and fanciful. Both Marla’s gallery work and installation art encourage personal connection through text and interactive hands-on elements. She plays with scale and combines surprising elements to challenge expectations, evoke emotion and curiosity, and encourage interaction and participation. Her work in the last few years with Nocturne: Art at Night and Uncommon Common Art has been highly complimented by educational outreach programs that allows entire schools to create public art projects. These aspects of her work fuel both her need to create and her desire to teach. www.marlabenton.com

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