Leah Mueller's work is published or forthcoming in Rattle, Writers Resist, Beach Chair Press, NonBinary Review, Brilliant Flash Fiction, Citron Review, New Flash Fiction Review, Does It Have Pockets, Outlook Springs, Your Impossible Voice, etc. She has received several nominations for Pushcart and Best of the Net. One of her short stories appears in the 2022 edition of Best Small Fictions. Her thirteenth book, "Stealing Buddha" was published by Anxiety Press in 2024. Website: http://www.leahmueller.org.
                           Yolk

My body’s shell
cracks more each year
but manages to keep
from splitting open.

I try to escape,
piece by piece,
catching glimpses
of daylight beyond skin,

while still holding on
to my darkened interior.

When the last shard falls,
I will have no choice
but to emerge. Meanwhile,
I make myself small

but courageous, knowing
that each push brings me
closer to light.
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