Jasmina Tacheva was born and raised in Bulgaria but has been residing in Buffalo NY for the past 3 years. She is the author of one book of poetry, Nespodelenost (Unrequited in Bulgarian) and the coauthor of a book of fiction, The Legacy of Lysimachus. She edits the online literary journals Public Republic and Absinthe-Minded, and is an avid journalist. Her poems, fiction, and articles have been published in numerous outlets including Public Republic, The Quadrangle, The Griffin, Philosophia, The Institute of Modern Politics, Kultura, Literaturen Vestnik, Knigolubie, and others.

35 Months
By Jasmina Tacheva

because i love you
i take you everywhere with me

and when it rains
i sew a pocket
to the inside of my memories:

umbrellas are for tourists
and we’ve been
roaming paradise for too long
to know that the storm
is eternal

because i love you
i’ll never even whisper
your name

never will i drop
the formal “mister”
(let them think they know me
/
you)

or a hint
as to what my
/
your
truth is
(let them … )

because i love you
i do and cherish
just the opposite of love

–somebody
gave me an umbrella
the other day
and i didn’t throw it away …