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The Opiate Books

The Opiate Books Presents: The PornME Trinity, 2nd Edition

Perhaps too unbelievable to fathom at the beginning of 2020, The PornME Trinity by David Leo Rice has taken on an entirely new meaning and resonance in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. An (ongoing) era, as we all know, when everyone was forced to acknowledge just how bleak and ersatz their existence really was when confined to four walls (whether at work or at … Continue reading The Opiate Books Presents: The PornME Trinity, 2nd Edition

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The Opiate Books

The Opiate Books presents Brontosaurus Illustrated

Regular readers of The Opiate may recognize Leanne Grabel’s work from the pages of our magazine, where we previously serialized Brontosaurus. Now available as Brontosaurus Illustrated, this is the work as you’ve never seen it–gorgeously illustrated and beautifully designed with the help of Robin Chilstrom. Don’t miss out on this truly unique and unprecedented memoir that turns a lasting trauma into something triumphant and hopeful. … Continue reading The Opiate Books presents Brontosaurus Illustrated

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Essay

There Is Absolutely No Empathy For the Writer When It Comes to Construction Work Infecting Their Space

I don’t know how it always seems to happen to me. I find myself in a living condition where, out of nowhere, the building will suddenly “require” (as if) some massive overhaul on its exterior. The kind of overhaul where the coterie of workers is staring you directly in the face right outside the window, liable to make lewd gestures if you look back for … Continue reading There Is Absolutely No Empathy For the Writer When It Comes to Construction Work Infecting Their Space

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Poetry

In This Electric City by Rochelle Jewel Shapiro

Here, where each street is named for Thomas Alva Edison,there are men in each pane of our windows, stabbinglittle flags into our assaulted lawn, marking where they will tearup the grass to replace the subterranean power line, all at our expense. Everything is opposite now. Instead of my husband, I signall the checks, lift the heavy packages, roll the chest-high rural garbagecans to the curb … Continue reading In This Electric City by Rochelle Jewel Shapiro

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Poetry

Stampede by Colleen Surprise Jones

Exceptional Moments are where the opioid of quality lives.Tethered together by long strings of sadness, daily existencehererequires stimulation to succeed. A portal.There has to be a door to everything that this life isnot.When abstraction is sound I can live,I can breathe. Quaking vinyl scratches through depression.Slashing paint claims my space.What this life is not is a declaration… Made by those whohave lost childlike idealismand try … Continue reading Stampede by Colleen Surprise Jones

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Poetry

An Oft-Told Tale, But What Does It Mean? by Barbara Tramonte

Thank you for submitting to GirdleWe very much appreciate the opportunityto read your work We read your poems with interest,but have decided that they do notmeet our current needs How could I know your current needs?Unless, of course, I am in your inner circleand know the dates of your upcomingdental appointmentsand/or recent traumas We know this is a particularly difficult time toreceive this kind of … Continue reading An Oft-Told Tale, But What Does It Mean? by Barbara Tramonte

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Poetry

Love Me by Barbara Tramonte

Stretch your armsToward me orAgainst me,A goodAnd badPas de deux Tensions flyThis way andthat No softnessNo MamiMaking foodFor us anymoreNo. Let’s figure outHow to use friction There was the beachIn the backseatOf my notebook My dreamsThe organza of thosePantiesPurchased at the drugstore The frillSo stiffLike our pursuit *Previously published in Umbrella Factory Magazine Continue reading Love Me by Barbara Tramonte

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Poetry

My Gay Al Shirt by Mike Wilson

covers me in bright tropical colorseverblooming in soft cotton gardens  uncovers my boundless blue skytempers the UV-riding sunlight to shore comes with rum runners, salt breezesand worshipful waves lapping my feet wherever I wear this shirt, an ocean isand ukuleles strum songs of hope ______________________________________________________________________Mike Wilson is the author of Arranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic, (Rabbit House Press, 2020), political poetry for a post-truth world. … Continue reading My Gay Al Shirt by Mike Wilson

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Essay

Adele Getting A Degree in English Literature on a Whim As It Correlates to Higher Education Being a Privilege of the Rich

Like working out regularly, as Adele does, getting an education in something you actually enjoy (as opposed to something you’re doing with the “I have to make money after this” mindset) is yet another privilege of the rich. Although it long has been, it seems with each passing year, once “basic” things, such as a implementing a fitness routine and pursuing an education in something … Continue reading Adele Getting A Degree in English Literature on a Whim As It Correlates to Higher Education Being a Privilege of the Rich

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Poetry

Buzz Kill by Dale Champlin

What is so mesmerizing about a quarter inch of beer?It’s more than I might want    but a binge for a fruit fly. One-by-one they muscle up to the bar        take a sip,list off the barstool        dead drunk        then just dead. And yet—      body floating,      wings askew,      each one takes a little tipple        before the big sleep. The saloon’s amber walls rise        slick and slippery.None of the fruit flies        trust their wings. Continue reading Buzz Kill by Dale Champlin

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Poetry

Masquerade by Anna Kapungu

A femme fatale I played the characterRecount stories of deceitTo win your heartBlonde hair, pink lips, reflection of a pictureA haze, I walked into your EarthDisguised as a desperate childWho thirsts for waterHunger for power of possessionPossession of your heartAn act the drama of ShakespeareProfess love that was odiousShow of affectionWith bile on my tongueHold no time for shamePlaced in a cornerThe living hours gave me … Continue reading Masquerade by Anna Kapungu

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