The Gorko Gazette

leopard print

my son had accidentally gone
into the ladies room
to do his business,
so I waited by the door
to make sure he didn’t
walk out naked

a drunk woman lay
on the sofa
by the door,

then I felt something
push against my shoulder

another woman,
about six-foot-three,
in a leopard-print body suit

decent curves
for such a tall woman,
but her face was gnarled
and ugly
as she looked down
at me

excuse me
excuse me
EXCUSE ME!
she said

we’re taking pictures

the drunk woman on the sofa
moaned,
posed,
though her eyes
remain closed

and as they took
their pictures
I thought, what if
I was a psychopath
recently let loose
due to California’s overcrowded prisons,
a psychopath
who had decided on a drive
through wine country
with a trunk full of female heads
looking for his next victim

ol’ leopard print
was lucky

I had quit all that
years ago

and when my son
popped out
of the bathroom
fully clothed,
I considered myself
lucky as well

chalk one up
for the psychopath
in retirement

---

bio

it’s late
at night
or early
in the morning
depending
on who
you ask

and I’m up
again,
gut distended,
drinking
coffee
and wine,
reading
poetry

found
a decent one,
‘Buzzkill,’
about a game
of hide
and seek
where no one
is found

but holy jumping Jesus,
the bio:

So and So
(they/she)
Is a Romanian-
American
lesbian,
poet,
and university student
living
in Lausanne, Switzerland

written
in priority order
no doubt,
poet
ranked sixth
behind lesbian

silly me,
thinking
it should be
first,
or
at least
second
after
name

but
I’m not
the one
in print
or a
lesbian
for that matter

might be
worth
a try

---

About the artist

Nathaniel Sverlow is a freelance writer of poetry and prose. He currently resides in the Sacramento area with two cats, an incredibly supportive wife, and a rambunctious son His previous publishing credits include Typehouse Literary Magazine, Thimble Literary Magazine, Right Hand Pointing, and Black Coffee Review.. He has also written three poetry books, The Blue Flame of My Beating Heart (2020), Heaven is a Bar with Patio Seating (2021), and From One Fellow Insect (2023), and one prose collection, The Culmination of Egotism (2022).

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Image: Teatro CPFL – No Natal a gente vem te buscar em Louveira (4370665948).jpg