Casey Renee Kiser

Mirror Werk

I know Valentine’s is in February
but I’m still on that anti-valentine March
I just wanna drown in all this clarity-
Lie in a pile of ugly dolls with pure hearts

Maybe I’ll pour a drink and masturbate
again to Donnie Darko; Frank can cum too-
mirror werk, twice if it don’t get too late;
Glitter-heart confetti, feeling fine in blue

Fuck you and your fresh meat-dinner date
The table will be set so impressively
but she don’t know what’s on her plate
while I’ll be loving myself obsessively

and I’m fastingĀ anyway

Jessie Spriggs

DAY 4 IN HELL 

the little fairies keep digging holes in my yard
and the sun is always setting but never leaves

i step outside on the porch and light my cigarette
and inhale, and inhale and inhell, and inhale
until it’s all gone

“dont you guys have someone else to bother?”

“you’re the favorite!”
the pink fairy says to me
in that annoying voice

the other fairies hoist their shovels in the air
and chant

“favorite boy! favorite boy!”

i go back inside
and watch some television
but every channel just shows the same movie
of some detective slowly realizing
that he’s the one committing all the murders

it’s my favorite movie ever
but i can’t remember how it ends

DAY 12 IN HELL

the fairies have started hunting the stray cats
in the neighborhood and burying them in my yard

i asked them to stop
but they tell me
it’s ok to break
the things that no one wanted

so they keep smashing the
kittens with the shovels
and i keep eating stale popcorn
and smoking and
everytime i run out
i just reach inside my coat pocket
and just like that

another pack of maralboro light 72’s
just like mother used to smoke

i’d hear these crooked caws coming
from the bathroom
and when i pushed open the creaky door
there’d she’d be
submerged in a bath of wine
just one hand dangling over the side
holding a cigarette

she’d raise her shriveled head
from her slumber
the crimson juices
sloshing over the sides of her shell
she’d say

“you think you’re so special, don’t you?”

no, mother

“that’s why you left me here to drown again, didn’t you?”

no, mother

“and now look at you. you’re just as ugly as me now, aren’t you?”

yes, mother

DAY 17 IN HELL

little sprouts have teased
their hungry fingers through
the mounds in the backyard

the fairies bring cute little
flower pot cans and water the mounds

“what the hell are you doing?”
i ask the pink one

“we’re growing tomatos”
she says, with a big ugly smile

“i hate tomatos”
i tell her

all the fairies stop their busy work
and chattering and hums
and stare at me

“we’re growing tomatos”
she says

“why?”
i ask

“because you said you loved them”
she says

“things change”
i say

so anyways i go back inside
and start making a tuna fish sandwhich
when the pink fairy hands me a tomato

“for your sandwhich”
she says

i cut the tomato into thick slabs
and each slice seems to satisfy the fairy

i slather the bread with mayo
and grab a pinch of flakey salt
to season the tomatos with
but she screeches

“though shall not! though shall not”

so i lick the salt off my fingers
and place the tomatos
on the sandwhich
and take a bite

“see? tomatos are your very favorite”
she says

i take another bite

“a big tomato for the big boy”
she says

i finish the sandwhich
in one big bite

“oh wow. so tasty right? because you love tomatos”
she says

“yea, i do actually”
i say

she giggles with glee
and then i notice
that her pink complexion
is really nice

almost like a tomato

DAY 49 IN HELL

a demon has come to check my progress

he sits in the recliner
that doesn’t recline
and writes down notes
as the silence rolls
like heads down a hill

*ahem*

“so jessie, do you know why i’m here?”
he asks

“i assume to shove archaic weapons in my ass. or maybe do that one thing with the rats and the bucket. you know what i’m talking about?”
i ask

“i have no idea what you’re talking about”
he says

“no worries then”
i say

he crosses his leg over the other
and puts his hands over the other
over his knee

“jessie…”
he says

“yea?”
i say

“where are your fairies?”
he asks


ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! ahhhhhhhhhhh!

uhuugk!

the blue fairy screams
as i slice into her
surprisingly thick belly
and let all the juice come out

it reminds me of my uncle
when he’d get stuck with me
because cps put mother back in rehab
and put me back with uncle

he’d slice the brandywine tomato
and he’d tell me you gotta take
out all the pulp

“that’s the guts of the tomato, nobody likes guts”
he said

we’d sit on his floral print couch
eating tomato sandwhiches
and we’d watch his favorite movie
about a detective who’s
trying to stop a serial killer
but to be honest
i can’t remember how it goes


“jessie, hello?”
the demon says

“hi”
i say

“where did your fairies go?”
he asks again

“they made tomatos”
i say

“jessie, did you eat all your fairies?”
he asks

“i did not eat all my fairies”
i say

“did you eat the pink one?”
he asks

“i might have tasted the pink one”
i say

DAY 86 IN HELL

i’ve been remodeling the house
for the past few weeks

i tried to talk the demons
into letting borrows some tools
to get the job done
but they keep trying to make
everything about
“emotional recovery” and
“rehabilitation”
so

sometimes you just gotta roll up the sleeves
and get it done yourself

i run as fast i can
thud….thud…thud..thud.thud.thud  thudthud!
i gain acceleration across the hardwood floor
and throw myself into the wall

i check my elbow and forearm
to see how many scabs i’ve opened up again
but it’s not so bad

i get up and start punching
and exposed 4×4 of pine

“boy”
the pink fairy calls to me

“oh hey there, what’s up?”
i ask

“that is not how”
she says

“you think so? i’m really enjoying myself though.”
i say

she just stares at me
with that wide eyed, petrified gaze she’s had
ever since i cut off her hand and ate it

“don’t worry i know what i’m doing”
i tell her

and it’s true
i used to work for my dad
when i dropped out of highschool

he had some rental properties
and even though we didn’t really know each other
he’d pay me to do some cleaning and painting

i thought this was the ground floor
of having a relationship with him
so i started asking about going over to his house
or maybe hanging out somewhere

but one day i was pulling weeds
at his property on jackson
when he rolled up in his tahoe

“hey jessie, i got your voicemails”
he shouts to me from the porch

“oh”
i say

“unfortunately, i’d like to keep things professional for now, ok?”
he shouts

“ok, dad”
i say

“so that means you can’t keep inviting me places, and you can’t keep calling me dad, ok?”
he shouts

“ok”
i say

“and i’ll go ahead and leave you ten dollars extra for all your hard work today. sound good champ?”
he shouts

“ok”
i say

later that night
i ate at my favorite restaurant
burger king
and had a whopper jr
and that whopper jr
was the worst whopper jr
i had ever had

i was so distraught
about having wasted the ten dollars
he gave me, on such a horrible meal
that i went back and asked for my money back
which they refused

so i pulled out uncles gun
and robber burger king
for the ten dollars
that my dad had given me
just to be nice

“boy”
pink fairy says

i push face off the floor
and have to really push
cause the dried up blood
has basically glued me to it

i feel some ripping as i push
and sit myself up against what’s
left of the wall

“this is for you”
she says

she hands me
a whopper jr

“eat it, please”
she says

“shut up you stupid bitch”
i scream

and i chase her down
and cut off her other hand
and eat that instead

MY LAST DAYS IN HELL

with all the walls knocked down
and the big black vortex swirling
in the backyard, i sit where the
living room used to be and just
take it all in

the pink fairy just watches me
with those unblinking eyes

“isn’t it beautiful”
i tell her

i sigh
get up
and walk over to the vortex

“boy, this is not how”
the pink fairy says

but i keep walking forward
the ripping and gurgling sounds
drowning everything else out

so close now i can feel my essence
slowly leaking away from me
and staring into the depth of the pit
it’s so frightening that the adrenaline
of it all becomes a fuel pushing me forward

“boy, do not”
the pink fairy yells

she stands just behind me

“it’s so intoxicating”
i tell her

“that is the bad thing, please do not”
the fairy yells

i look back into the pit
and reflect


my dad never bailed me out of jail
in fact, he didn’t take a single one of my calls

after a month in jail waiting for the trial
i wound up getting released
on the condition i complete
6 months of state provided counseling

i only made it to a single counseling session
and when i got home
uncle asks me how it went

“good”
i say

“hey, you wanna help me finish up dinner?”
he asks

he’s making burgers and tots
so i wash my hands and he has
me start prepping the gauc

“so what did you guys talk about?”
uncle asks

” my mom, i guess”
i say

“yea? what else?”
he asks

“and my dad.”
i say

“that fucking asshole. i knew i shouldn’t have let you get involved with him. i’m sorry kid”
he says

i cut the tomatos into small bits
to into the gauc

“well what else? did it help to get some things off your chest?”
uncle asks

“yea, it helped me put some things into perspective”
i say

“well hey, that’s something ain’t it? hey after you cut the onions could you go start the grill.”
he says

later that night
holding the chefs knive
uncle gave me for my 16th birthday
i start panicking

what if it could be different
what if it hurts
what if this is it

i remember what the therapist said
when i told her i was having suicidal thoughts
she said

“that’s the bad way to deal with your stressors”

oh
i guess it is, isn’t it

the pink fairy tries to hold my hand
with her little stubs

“favorite boy, listen”
she says

“everybody always says, there’s a better way”
i tell her

“but i’m not looking for better, i’m looking for the best”

tears swell in her eyes

“i’m sorry please, do not go boy”
she pleads

i kneel down
and wipe the tears from her face

“all the sorries in the world can’t change the way salt tastes”
i tell her

“what?”
she asks

“well, some things are the way they are. the sky is blue, hell is the worst, and i never should have existed.”
i tell her

“wrong, boy is wrong. we can try another way, please”
she says

“you want me to be happy?”
i ask her

she shakes her head yes

“you want me to fix myself?”
i ask her

“yes boy, that is the good thing”
she says

“well, that’s what i’ll do then”
i say

she smiles
like she used to
145 days ago

and thats when i kiss her goodbye
and run into the vortex

a portal
to someplace,
something better

Shane Allison

Scott Won’t Stop Talking about Farrio’s Dick

Scott talks about Farrios dick as if it’s launched a thousand ships.Ā 
Going on about its thickness, the curve of it,
Yet when I showed him mine,
He gave me one his big Georgia smiles and said, that’s awesome man, good for you.Ā 
As if I got an A on my science project or something.
Four months out of the closet and he’s already a size queen.Ā 
Farrio does nothing for me,
Doesn’t move my dick like some men do.Ā 
I was at one of Brandon’s after club sex parties
The first time I saw Farrio’s cock dressed in black briefs.Ā 
Anthony and I were invited.
I think he just wanted to see Brandon’s dick in person
Outside ofĀ Snap chat videos.Ā 
Luckily, I wasn’t that drunk
And Brandon and his boyfriend John, didn’t live
Too far from the bar.Ā 
My only wish was to get John’s dick in my mouth,
To maybe push my face between the furry cheeksĀ 
Of his Minnesota ass.Ā 
Freeloader Anthony rang the doorbell.Ā 
Some typical blonde boy answered.
I had seen him at the bar before.Ā 
Some drag queen apprentice of Jessa’s I think.
Most were sitting outside on the back patio
With damn near nothing onĀ as if they had done this before.Ā 
John looked good enough to eatĀ 
Walking around in his underwear, holding a bong.Ā 
Such aĀ cute cub with his thick, well-trimmed beard and Pizza-Hut belly.
He, Brandon and Farrio were the only three I knew by name.Ā 
I had seen Brandon’s dick a few times at the local sex arcade
Being stuffed in someone’s mouth through a glory hole.
It’s pretty, but I never tasted it.Ā 
I’m not much for sloppy seconds in a time of COVID 19.
But for Freeloader Anthony, Brandon’s dick was the kind that kept him up nights.
John’s ass was the sort that kept my mouth watering.Ā 
Farrio went out back to join the other chicken cutlets.
We sat on the couch admiring the Eden of boys with their bulbous bulges.
Two men took things upstairs
While a couple of others began to playĀ 
In a nearby room.
Things were going better than I expectedĀ 
Until I pulled out my phone to show a pic of my dick.Ā 
That’s it!?! Some guy said, whom I had never seen before.
As if my dick is somehow detachable and comes with an assortment of sizes.Ā 
I wasn’t much for partying after that and wanted to leave.Ā Ā 
It was late, and I was too drunk and sleepyĀ 
For insults on what the good Lord gave me.Ā 
Freeloader Anthony sat there staring stupidly anyway.
Come on, Anthony. Let’s go. They don’t want our fat asses.
It wasn’t the blowjobs under blue sky encounters I was used to,Ā 
But at least I got this poem out of the experience.

Marc Normal

The Fly

Fish on the Ice Counter

my living eye
clear curious
found its dead eye
milky sad
its slack line mouth
slightly open
fins
little pieces
of cellophane
a fly wandered across its dry back,
and I said
sorry,
cousin.

Fly Life

Sticking to the wallpaper
washing its front legs
the fly looks like
it’s saying a prayer
but really it’s thinking
about a dead fish
it was recently standing on.

The Fat Man

The fat man lives
at the end of the universe
with his wife
and his diabetes
He squeezes his ass
into his chair
in front of his TV.
He sits there all day
every day.
That day he was sitting there
eyeing the fly
pitched on the peeling wallpaper.
He only got one good eye
so he was watching it with that.
The other stared ahead like a dead fish.
He hates that fly
He hates all flies.
They get on your food
when you aint looking
and
shit vomit piss
suck it all up
and trample over it with their dirty feet.
That’s what the TV told him.
That’s why he sits in his chair
sweating and cursing like a sultan
plastic fly swat in his hand
waiting
waiting for that fly.

Damian Rucci

Antares

It could all be from the drugs
but I think we found innocence
tonight in the parking lot
in front of your house
watching the Antares rocketĀ 
from your phone become
a shooting star across the Jersey sky
we waived goodbye to the spaceship
becoming alien in the cassiopeia
of those haunted autumn lights.
I think of my youth, chasing daylight
along the beaches of the Bayshore
your smile reminds me of then
and I think maybe home
isn’t a place but a series of moments
when we feel less aloneĀ 

Johnny Scarlotti

[i am so depressed]

my girlfriend is taking a nap

i pull up a porn site,

search : 

tiniest, blind, retarded, mental patient, quad amputee, [redacted] 

but nothing’s doing it for me lately…

except

i pull up the deep dark web video again, Ā a guy jerking off alone in a dark room, giving a gun a blowjob, and as he’s climaxing he pulls the trigger

i donno y this turns me on so much, i’m 100% straight

anyways, i rain cum on myself 

then forget about cleaning it up

i spend a while in the forums of a pro suicide website, just doin some research for my novel 

check to see if she’s awake

nope

i buy a bunch of stuff with her credit card

i notice the cum has dried on my chest and stomach

it’s crusty

i pick it out of the hairs

and put it on my desk

crush it up with her credit card

it looks like cheap cocaine

oh shit, she’s awake, 

watching me 

she says wUt the fUck r u doing

what can i say… 

i got us some cocaine, baby

she grabs a hundred dollar bill from her purse

rolls it up

and snorts a line

then gives me the bill

i snort a line

omg, i am so high, she says,

this is good shit

me too, i say,

i am so depressed

G

Mannequin

Stand in front of the window.
That’s it. Right in front of your bed.
I know the curtains are open.
Yes, I know they can see in.
Don’t worry.Ā  You’re beautiful.
It’s only the fat-uglies and old
no one wants to see.

Take off your t-shirt.
I want to smell it.
It’s better than all of nature,
and you’ve been sleeping.
No, don’t turn around.
Keep facing that way.
Play to your public.

Spread your legs apart,
that’s it, shoulder-width,
just like you’re lifting weights.
Push your crotch forward,
arch your back.
Can you feel me close to you?
Can you feel my breath?

Bow your head, I’m about to fuck.
You’re cool and clean, ready.
That’s it, push that ass out.
Don’t move your hands.
People are staring, yes.
They will probably be shocked.
Something to whisper at work.
Something to dream at night.

William Taylor Jr.

The Fact of Her

In San Francisco
at any given moment
there is a girlĀ 
on Grant St.
in North Beach
wearing a long
and fashionable coat
raven black hair
tumbling down Ā 
upon her shouldersĀ 
a cup of wine
in one hand
maybe a cigaretteĀ 
in the other
lookingĀ 
like somethingĀ 
from an oldĀ 
French film
swaying
on the sidewalk
to music from a bar
or a man playing
guitar on a corner
maybe she knows
you’re watching
maybe she doesn’t
but the thing is
the simple fact of her
makes all the rest of it Ā 
worth sufferingĀ 
through.

Casey Renee Kiser

I’ll Be Waiting

If you wanna get real,Ā honey;
escape the whip of the circus
but still do some tricks,
send a limo

If you wanna cosplay;
be the motherfucking burger king
with a well-done honey
and have it your way, well,
I’ll run up and grab me some fries
andĀ maybeĀ your crown then,Ā laterĀ babe,
send a limo

If you wanna trace my backbone
with your tongue and rememberĀ 
the 80’s chills
you got when you were youngĀ 
watching your new favorite horror flick,
send a limo

If you wanna know what it’s likeĀ 
to have a switchblade on your throat
and be so in loveĀ 
with the pulseĀ 
of walking the line,Ā well, babe,
send a limo

Humberto Peacock

Sex With a Stranger 

Her body breathes me in —
shivers trace her spineĀ 
they drape over me like a fleshy canopy
her shadowy form obscuring a still half-moon
we follow beads of sweatĀ 
from her foreheadĀ 
down to her navel
songs pour from our tongues
her body breathes me in.

When I enter I start with
her mouth
lips brush, indelible
I taste her nipples, stroke her ready cunt 
with my fingers,
anticipate nothing unfamiliar.

Her skin is intimate as clockwork
and twice as complex
to me
her voicelessness drums along like dialogue 
skin murmuring softly.

I love her, it’s dangerous.

Night-veiled
she pours herself over my ticking cock
we listen to the way our bodies converse.

Before swallowing the dark’s
envy
she kisses the air goodnight.

Her body breathes me in —

We fuck like 
pure poetry.