the three of us uncovered a classroom skeleton in playground sand
just the left arm, no shoulder
i wanted the rest of it
later that day i took a knife to my throat
cut a paper thin circle. Shoved a sponge down those froggy tubes
and pulled it back out
i would not be sick anymore
then i tossed the arm in a garbage bin
along with the sponge, put my skin back on
and pedaled back to the others on the Dirt Dog
I’m Sorry, Wendy Xu
your new book came in the mail
you sent it to your sister
an early release just for her and some special others
I was there when she opened it. Glossy
slick and perfect
Please understand my life is a sitcom
I washed it
with my elbow and that glass of water but thank god you went for the nice cover
I went for a quick wipe off cover up
it dried before I reached the next town
just wanna say sorry
you taught me how to hate and for that I am eternally grateful
I learned how to betray a good friend (you) without guilt
for that I can only thank myself
you saw me in the nightclub
grabbed my shoulders
said hello
That night I also saw alien porn projected on the venue’s screen
A haunted house and a 3 meter dick (old vacuum hose?)
a feeble woman jogs away from whatever arts and crafts the production team got into
I find myself near the Triple Rock where the slimy penis flopped around
Somehow I think of you first.
Dammit, woman.
I cast you as Lifetime Arch Enemy & paid you in thoughts on a rolling basis
Now I’m hiring.
I wish you still thought my name was a curse
you wrote such wonderfully horrific things about me.
saw a guy in the street who looked like another guy I tricked myself to love
so hell, I loved him too
but he walked away as if I didn’t look like his last lover.
what a dick!
is there a guy out there who sees me and says
Damn that’s Patrice!
That’s Marie!
She’s the one for me!
Cashiers ask if they’ve seen me before.
I tell them no and look to the cars outside for my doppelganger
who must be nearby.
Maybe she’ll find the guy from earlier
and break his heart out of supernatural loyalty to me.
To me it looked like a regular young forest
Liang said they’re Rubber Trees
to be cut down on their fifth birthday
i picture the entire forest falling down on the trampoline ground
bouncing back into place
a lumberjack’s nightmare
the three of us uncovered a classroom skeleton in playground sand
just the left arm, no shoulder
i wanted the rest of it
later that day i took a knife to my throat
cut a paper thin circle. Shoved a sponge down those froggy tubes
and pulled it back out
i wasn’t going to be sick anymore
then i tossed the arm in a garbage bin
with the sponge, put my skin back on
and the three of us rode on tiny bikes around the village.
In Subplot, Seeking Help
From: Damsel Underwhelmed
Dear editor,
all my poetry is about romance
isn’t that totally gross?
i mean, i run my phone down to 24% in a day
for a notification or a gif or a meme
with this that the other person’s charming face
good god when comes the part where i don’t look for trouble, it finds me?
and Wait there’s more, i have no blood
i have no herbs to add in my tea
i have no spellbound trickster leaves
i have no flapping stomach bees
i have this sexy actor meme
i want to be the meanest woman and i want to be forgiven immediately.
only one person can fall hopeless and it’s the guy in the produce aisle.