she is pale white, not pasty, Lord no, pale white her lips are plump, like little pink goldfish adrift in all that whiteness until you don’t even notice the whiteness anymore just the lips and they have a buoyancy to them and you just want to reach out and touch…

I know what everything in the world looks like Like that ginormous tower in Paris my daddy showed me a picture of it when I was small or like them howler monkeys at the Bronx Zoo I know what those look like ‘cuz he took me there once I know…

The commencement speaker stood behind the lectern wearing a cap and gown, adorned in school colors. He was in his early fifties, a bit out of place, and less cultivated than one might expect. As he started speaking, his voice was noticeably slurred. “Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests…

I’m at a cafe. I’m sixteen. I ask the girl at the counter for the key to the washroom. She accommodates me gladly, fumbling it into the mud cake. She squeals embarrassingly and I apologize for her. When I return from the washroom we chat. We talk about cake of…

I will not wrestle Not with this I am too tired I will lose everything and I don’t have much In fact, I have nothing Ok, I have maybe one thing It’s right over there but I will not wrestle My knees hurt and so does my elbow and so…

I don’t want the words They’re yours now Use them Overuse them Go tell yourself you’re telling the story Go tell yourself a lot of things I’ll just bark and whistle I’ll tell mine with simple sounds Go and kill what you think you cherish Go and cherish whatever it was I’ll be somewhere over here with mine ~ Patrick Ellsworth image credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-and-white-photos-of-toddlers-1596882/

Outside the Coney Island Freak Show, the barker worked the crowd. “Check out the twin contortionists as they bathe with one another, while Jiminy the Midget douses them with water and flowers! Come watch Betty Lou sing Sinatra and shake her gravity defying ass! Don’t dare miss the woman who…

inside its mouth the undertow the vertigo cold hands hold her hips tonight a simple sway has cast her joy away cotton candy coats the sour sky all miniaturized she was never life-sized anyway ~ Patrick Ellsworth image credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/swings-on-grassy-lawn-near-building-3921014/ The Power of Poetry how to submit?medium.com

Chapter 4 Kurt made an immediate impression on us. Moments before his audition, he remarked on my red velvet pants and just how sexy he thought I looked. He was trying too hard, no doubt, but I was taken by his charm and audacity. During the audition, in between jams…