My phone won’t stop vibrating. I wake up to so many texts with so many pleas desiring gestures of devotion, camaraderie, more devotion and loyalty. The success and survival of so many endeavors hang on the tips of my fingers, no less my tongue. My silence to them is the equivalent of the magistrate remaining absent, hence staying the execution to which they believed themselves … Continue reading How Dare You? by Xavier Jones
Not in the way of a solitary spider, but a more bookish type. My web is a spectral endeavor, a reflection of my personality—the homespun fibers of my existence. Over my morning cup of Earl Grey, I plot the formation of a new friendship. The spinster next door is fair game. Her only drawback: she has a pet mini Doberman, devoid of voice box and … Continue reading I’m a Recluse by Dale Champlin
Hot Stuff.At The Bar.Tiddly Winks.At The Bar.Free Drinks.Free Cigar.Top Shelf.Avatar.Hot StuffLoose LipsRuff RuffNice Tips.Hot Stuff.Taxi Cab.Open Blouse.Grab Bag.Penthouse.Dirty Mag.Your SpouseDressed InDrag.Hot StuffHandcuffsHang ToughCream Puff.Hot Stuff.Pretty Boy.With Your NaughtyNaughtyToy.Did You Dig TheScene? Did YouFlash SomeGreen.Call YourMommy First?Then YourMister Clean? Hot StuffRuff RuffHave You Had Enough? If The Answer’sNo YouCan GetTo Go. Continue reading Hot Stuff by Charlie Robert
No cap, this whole timeline is cringe.My drip is this default skin. My rizz? Gave up and ghosted!I’m just a tryhard mewing at the dust,out here mogging the inevitable. It’s a major L. This house? Highkey Ohio.This aura? Cooked!Heart is salty, blood’s just mid. Bruh.Your own body gives you the ick.I wouldn’t simp for this version of me, fr. The news is pure brainrot.Skibidi politics, … Continue reading The Bottom-of-the-Ninth Vibe Check by Zumwalt
Throughout the twentieth century and for most of the twenty-first thus far, the quest to become famous has remained a common goal among the starry-eyed and attractive (even if only “by small-town standards”). In fact, one could argue it has for so long been presented as the foremost goal not just because of fame’s erstwhile association with wealth, but because “who wouldn’t want their name … Continue reading Rachel Cusk’s Life of M is Less a Takedown of Natalie Portman and More an Illumination of the Hollowness of Celebrity Itself
I’ve met the driver before, the rides are often confusing, destination unknown.What starts out up, ends up down.A walk on soft brioche clouds can turn in an instant into a waterslide of turbulent water.The ride is mostly smooth but dead-ends at a group of uncaring and dispirited buildings.They reek of loss and bad decisions.They feel familiar because they are.But beautiful red and violent paint slowly … Continue reading A Ride With Ketu—This Is Not a Dream by Frankie Laufer
Only lizards ferry a boat across the river keeping an eye on the distant shoreHow many women have requested to be taken back. To begin again— to be thrust into the tentacles of remembrance— such a thankless mission, they surmise.Where did I come from at the beginning The trick—how after the first sip of mother’s milk, it is virtually impossible to return to all-encompassingnothingness. The hope—that butterflies will always swarm multicolor … Continue reading The Lizard of Love by Dale Champlin
The quiet, simple truth isthat life has passed you by. But it comes up againsthyped, noisy,powered truths: you let it pass, you neverfound something to fall back on, or masteredwiring, money, computers, relationships,cars; all blame is on selves and you have onlyyourself to blame. Capital evenretrieves from its early, definitivejudgments of you the term“underachiever.” It’s one of those rare,true moments of clarity; youknow because it … Continue reading Waiting for the Electrician by Frederick Pollack
