Read the winning piece of our 2025 Nonfiction Contest “Through the Mirror” by Jessie Cato selected by Lucy Ives.

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Dorainne Laux

Poetry

Summer/ Autumn 1997

Firestarter

By Dorainne Laux

for my nephew, Raymond Since this morning he's gone through an entire box of Safeway matches, the ones with the outlines of presidents' faces printed in red, white, and blue. […]

Poetry

Summer/ Autumn 1997

Prayer

By Dorainne Laux

Sweet Jesus, let her save you, let her take your hands and hold them to her breasts, slip the sandals from your feet, lay your body down on sheets beaten […]