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Witness Magazine

Escapement

By
Poetry•Vol. XXVIII No. 2 (Summer 2015)

Some polish               to  sliptoe    against
the  grain                    that  rosewood  has
                                      when
                   it’s  a  box  and
                   kidnap       the   little   time   it
takes  to  solder  two  times
together
in a locket for lockaway
seasons: a     pocket
watch      and inside
                 the  insides  of forget-me-nots
                                    a    nil-ado        duet
                                    for dauphine hands
                                    tsk-tsk
trails  off  from   cockcrow      vibrato —
nickel  inflicted  on  nickel
                              overhauls matins
                   again










                       and  how  many  gimcracks
               grit  indifference
                            through      clenched
                                 teeth       and carry on
for  the  all  the  alsos  that  make  a  day
how  many                                 hairspring
          trigger  pulls
          from      the  slag heaps
                          —     gearworks gone awry
pinions      akimbo
a cicatrix   where the rubies were
                                and   scratched
        sapphires  crumble  flecks  of  sun…
Snap   the   case   back
                                back and close the lid:
a vapor of gold plate
                   as  deep  as  luster
                   runs  in  this  souvenir.

Derek Gromadzki holds MFAs from Brown University and the University of Iowa, where he is a doctoral candidate in comparative literature. His poetry has appeared in such publications as BOAAT, Conjunctions, Sonora Review, and Wave Composition. With Forrest Gander, he recently finished editing Alice, Iris, Red Horse: Selected Poems of Gozo Yoshimasu (New Directions 2016), which includes his translations, with Sayuri Okamoto, of excerpts from Gōzō Yoshimasu’s Naked Memos. He is currently lecturer in Italian at Washington University in St. Louis.

Spring 2023

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Editor-in-Chief Areej Quraishi

Managing Editor Benjamin Stallings

Engagement & Design Editor Lindsay Olson

Fiction Editors Tanya Shirazi & Xueyi Zhou

Nonfiction Editor Dominque Conway

Poetry Editor John B. Oldenborg

Editorial Assistant Charlie Bartlett

Contributing Editors Henry Gunderson, Anne Livingston, Cecil Lycoris, Leah Mell, Marlan Smith, Kelly Stith, Carlos Tkacz, Jo Wallace

Readers Justine Baker, Carrie Bindschadler, Nicholas Bon, Sara Brown, Alycia Calvert, Delight Ejiaka, Benjamin Favero, Jordan Foster, Eli Jacobs, Arel Wiederholt Kassar, Veronica Klash, Clarissa Leon, Alice Letowt, Aeriel Marillat, Nicole Minton, Destiny Pinder-Buckley, Avery Portis, Sara Tausendfreund, Layhannara Tep, Tonya Todd, Rachel Walker, Kailee Wingo

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Winter 2020

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Editor-in-chief Jarret Keene & Emily Setina

Managing & Engagement Editor Lindsay Olson

Fiction Editor Wendy Wimmer

Assistant Fiction Editor Robert Ren

Nonfiction Editor Cody Gambino

Poetry Editor Lindsay Olson

Readers Anthony Farris, Dylan Fisher, Ruth Larmore, Kathryn McKenzie, Chantelle Mitchell, Flavia Stefani, Jordan Sutlive, Ariana Turiansky, Alexandra Murphy, Bronwyn Scott-McCharen, Carrieann Cahall, Ilanit Moskul, Jo Hahn, Marycourtney Ning, Sanjana Gothi, Sarah Spaulding

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Managing & Engagement Editor Lindsay Olson

Fiction Editor Robert Ren

Assistant Fiction Editor Areej Quraishi

Nonfiction Editor Cody Gambino

Poetry Editor Heather Lang-Cassera

Readers Alexis Noel Brooks, Alycia Calvert, Benjamin Stallings, Chelsi Sayti, Claire Mullen, Dylan Cloud, Erin Turner, Flavia Stefani Resende, Jennifer Quintanilla, Jeremy Freeman, Jesse Motte, John Oldenborg, Jonquil Harris, Jordan Sutlive, Justine Baker, Kelly Lindell, Lynda Montgomery, Mir Arif, Percy Kerry, Sara Guiang, Sara Tausendfreund, Sarah Spaulding, Stephanie O’Brien, Stephen Ira, Steven Aiken, Talia Aharoni, Tonya Todd, Vandana Sehrawat, Veronica Klash, Win Frederick

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Editor-in-Chief Emily Setina

Managing Editor Christina Berke

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Poetry Editor Andrew Collard

Readers Erika Abad, Steven Aiken, Mir Arif, Justine Baker, Alexis Noel Brooks, Soni Brown, Alycia Calvert, Cristina Cisneros, Dylan Cloud, Emily Daniel, Win Frederick, Sara Guiang, Stephen Ira, Eli Jacobs, Veronica Klash, Kelly Lindell, Lynda Montgomery, Jesse Motte, Stephanie O’Brien, John Oldenborg, Jennifer Quintanilla, Mark Ranchez, Flavia Stefani Resende, Chelsi Sayti, Vandana Sehrawat, Sarah Spaulding, Benjamin Stallings, Jordan Sutlive, Sara Tausendfreund, Tonya Todd, Erin Turner

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Nonfiction Editor Mir Arif

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Editorial Assistant Oona Robertson

Contributing Editors Alycia Calvert, Emma Hardy, Henry Gunderson, Eli Jacobs, Nicole Minton, Ezra Noel, John Oldenborg, Jennifer Quintanilla, Amanda Santana, Marlan Smith, Ben Socolofsky, Sarah Spaulding, Sara Tausendfreund, Olivia Williams, Sara Guiang

Readers Erika Abad, Justine Baker, Charlie Bartlett, Alexis Noel Brooks, Veronica Klash, Alice Letowt, Laurel Miram, Jesse Motte, Mark Ranchez, Benjamin Stallings, Vandana Sehrawat, Tonya Todd

Faculty Advisor Maile Chapman

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Editor Robert Ren
Managing Editor Christina Berke
Assistant Managing Editor Benjamin Stallings
Engagement Editor Lindsay Olson
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Assistant Fiction Editor Xueyi Zhou
Poetry Editor Jo O’Lone-Hahn
Nonfiction Editor Mir Arif
Editorial Assistant Oona Robertson
Faculty Advisor Maile Chapman
Readers Erika Abad, Helen Armstrong, Justine Baker, Charlie Bartlett, Audrey Bauman, Sara Brown, Alycia Calvert, Cristina Cisneros, Post Earth, Jordan Forest, Sara Guiang, Henry Gunderson, Stephen Ira, Eli Jacobs, Veronica Klash, Alice Letowt, Nicole Minton, Lynda Montgomery, Jesse Motte, Ezra Noel, John Oldenborg, Jennifer Quintanilla, Amanda Santana, Vandana Sehrawat, Marlan Smith, Sarah Spaulding, Kelly Stith, Sara Tausendfreund, Tonya Todd, Olivia Williams
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