Adrian Dallas Frandle
the more i hide / inside
the more i hide / inside / peer through windows / the more
i am convinced / the deer in my neighborhood are truly chihuahuas /
stacked in trenchcoats / the neighbors may be something / similarly
chimerical / for all i care / i barely speak / to anyone these days / nights
are a different story / that’s when apps come alive / feed / open
mouths / open palms / refreshing screens / replenishing offerings /
yet it is refreshing / peacocking what you got / inverse Zorro-eyed
mouths / covered / filter / more than need // which should be /
examined / i urge you to interrogate / presets / especially on porn sites /
a lot of variety never killed / anyone / in Hippocratical hindsight //
which states / care is sometimes defined as a system of harm
reduction / hypocrite formulation our /health-care system/ as if
the terms had insurance / good / at this cheap-ass clinic lounge / language /
in the CVS this christmas // yes during our current transmissible mess //
to pick up an emergency prescription for amoxicillin for my busted mouth / a man
rushed in maskless / scream-asked over the counter / at the pharmacist
for HOME TESTS! / the fucking carelessness / i fantasized
about hoisting the stanchion / bashing his uncovered face / in-
stead i / stood / glared / did nothing like / i always do / of course // as in
grit // not the plot / not the river run-of-the-mill direction that’s not the way
this goes so / follow along / he never looked back / so i turned to salt / or / i just
disappeared / slipped down the river / whichever metaphor / you care
for / i don’t know how / they do it / not a care in the world
those deer on the lawn / or whatever they are / like my two rescue
dogs w/ some skin/memory of danger / flinch / remembrance for how things
felt / before / now they are cared for / i know there’s no worry / for why / what
they’re in for / cold / so we buy coats to keep them warm
while we shiver / watch / from windows // like spies // try to learn
their disguises / how they do it / act so natural
i am convinced / the deer in my neighborhood are truly chihuahuas /
stacked in trenchcoats / the neighbors may be something / similarly
chimerical / for all i care / i barely speak / to anyone these days / nights
are a different story / that’s when apps come alive / feed / open
mouths / open palms / refreshing screens / replenishing offerings /
yet it is refreshing / peacocking what you got / inverse Zorro-eyed
mouths / covered / filter / more than need // which should be /
examined / i urge you to interrogate / presets / especially on porn sites /
a lot of variety never killed / anyone / in Hippocratical hindsight //
which states / care is sometimes defined as a system of harm
reduction / hypocrite formulation our /health-care system/ as if
the terms had insurance / good / at this cheap-ass clinic lounge / language /
in the CVS this christmas // yes during our current transmissible mess //
to pick up an emergency prescription for amoxicillin for my busted mouth / a man
rushed in maskless / scream-asked over the counter / at the pharmacist
for HOME TESTS! / the fucking carelessness / i fantasized
about hoisting the stanchion / bashing his uncovered face / in-
stead i / stood / glared / did nothing like / i always do / of course // as in
grit // not the plot / not the river run-of-the-mill direction that’s not the way
this goes so / follow along / he never looked back / so i turned to salt / or / i just
disappeared / slipped down the river / whichever metaphor / you care
for / i don’t know how / they do it / not a care in the world
those deer on the lawn / or whatever they are / like my two rescue
dogs w/ some skin/memory of danger / flinch / remembrance for how things
felt / before / now they are cared for / i know there’s no worry / for why / what
they’re in for / cold / so we buy coats to keep them warm
while we shiver / watch / from windows // like spies // try to learn
their disguises / how they do it / act so natural
Biography
|
Adrian Dallas Frandle (he/they) is a queer poet & queerer cook. A reader for Variant Lit Mag & Okay Donkey Lit Mag/Press, they have poems in or forthcoming in HAD, Daily Drunk Mag's "Marvelous Verses" print anthology, Moist Poetry Journal, the lickety~split, Stone of Madness Press & elsewhere. Work & more online at adriandallas.com - Tweets: @adrianf
|
