Tentative Title: Pesticide
“What would you like”
The barman asks
I’m swimming alone
In peach juice air—
My first sepia toned
nightmare
There is the man
Swimming too
And we move together,
In a way.
I move away 3 feet
And in the same
Distance
he moves closer
He smiles: Unlocks
a Treasure chest
Full of holograph
Beetles
Their legs
Black, spiny, spindling
Peeling back the
Corners of his lips
And their heads
Squish together
When I laugh
And shake my head
“What would you like”
The barman asks
The man says he’ll
Buy my cosmo
I say I’ll have
Whatever is cheap
and in a can
The barman and I Exchange
our drugs of choice
And a quiet stare
Before I turn to the man
To tell him
there’s
beetle juice
dripping down his
Chin
