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Revision

The stories my sister
tells about us she tells

wrong. Remember this,
remember that, she asks,

narrating scenes with plots
she stole from TV shows,

situation comedies
about happy families.

She’s busy crafting
her memoirs,

wants all us sisters
to recreate our long-

ago dance recital pose
for the cover photo.

I remember the shine:
sequins, tap shoes, tears.

My old costume is tight,
the elastic shot.

I tell her: that costume
doesn’t suit me.

I’m done with costumes.

—
Dorian Kotsiopoulos’ work has appeared in literary and medical journals, including New England Journal of Medicine, On the Seawall, Poet Lore, Salamander, Smartish Pace, and Third Wednesday. She is a reviewer for the Bellevue Literary Review and a co-director of the Chapter & Verse Reading Series in Boston.

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