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Madrigal for a Mackerel
Remember how
You dressed
This flesh
The onion skirt
Sipped slightly
Wine of white
Shine of light
In metal tab
Finger lift
The tomato
The olive
Nothing more
Lemon juice
Splashed gash
That’s the sting
Mackerel my heart
Cram my love
Into this tin shell
Where none
Is left that
Felt the sea
No deception
Or obscurity
Only waiting
For the air
The cracker
The mouth
- P. C. Tavarez
P. C. Tavarez is a Cuban-Dominican poet living in the Midwest. Born in Miami, she writes about love, grief, mental health, survival, and the mess of being human. Her first two books, That’s Not Love, That’s a Live Grenade (2021) and Love in Winter, Alive in Spring (2024), were self-published. Her newest chapbook, I’m Sorry, I’m Just a Girl (Pure Sleeze Press, 2025), is her most vulnerable work yet. Tavarez writes with her heart open, carving poems out of struggle and resilience, always reaching for honesty. Her words are confessions, bruises, and small prayers for connection.