Or—

The Roma have no words
for “read” or “write.”
The closest is to carve
or count, to sing or
tell fortunes from the palm.

Solitude, a symptom
or punishment,
not a luxury.
Never something chosen.

Survival is
to lie, and move—
not shifting, but caravan wheels.
Not deception,
but a better story
is more
true, really.

—JENNIFER LOVEGROVE

(Originally published summer, 2002.)

The famous Taddle Creek end note

Author Bio

Jennifer LoveGrove lives in North York, but is still a Parkdalian at heart. She writes poetry and fiction, edits the literary zine Dig, and makes dirty soap called Soap Scum. She is the author of I Should Never Have Fired the Sentinel (ECW, 2005) and The Dagger Between Her Teeth (ECW, 2002). Her first published short story appeared in the Christmas, 2001, issue of Taddle Creek. She has contributed to the magazine since 2001. (Last updated Christmas, 2006.)



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