Somebody Loves You by Mona Arshi Manuel Rivas an anthem of desire against

an anthem of desire against erasure

from mantras and incantations

Joseph Coelho

A war-poem both historic and frighteningly topical

these two figures find each other in the poet’s imagination

Somebody Loves You by Mona Arshi Manuel Rivas an anthem of desire againstA teacher asked me a question, and I opened my mouth as a sort of formality but closed it softly, knowing with perfect certainty that nothing would ever come out again. Ruby gives up talking at a young age. Her mother isnt always there to notice; she comes and goes and goes and comes, until, one day, she doesnt. Silence becomes Rubys refuge, sheltering her from the weather of her mothers mental illness and a pressurized suburban atmosphere. Plangent,