Kristine Ong Muslim's work has been published or is forthcoming in over three hundred publications worldwide. Her work has appeared in Beeswax Magazine, Bellevue Literary Review, Narrative Magazine, and The Pedestal Magazine. She has received three nominations for the Pushcart Prize and one for the Rhysling Award.

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The Dolls Who Cried Love

by Kristine Ong Muslim  

The dolls have come to live
in our mouths, sweeten our spit.
They threaten to scramble
down our throats, snuggle
beside our voice boxes where
songs have long ago been interred.
They promise to remain small,
to not ask a lot of questions,
to not dig their fingernails
across the lining of the throat
and murmur comforting words
onto the wounds they create.