Journey After the Show
Wanderwalking in an orbit home,
Dreaming of some firm play in a better bed
Where I can feel foreign hairs and connect
Without having to file away worries
Of how each embrace might serve my network
For a face that can turn into a skyline
When stretched out on its side,
For a body that will make me forget for once
How our bodies are just islands,
In the way this city forgets its islands too
Instead, there is shouting, hardwood stains,
Broken stalls, and delayed trains
Running hyperlocal and right into each other,
As the space between the stations
Keeps dividing endlessly after midnight
The Slaughtering Cause
Open up a lukewarm one and try again
To flow in suds beyond the thought
Of any and all needs, desires, or common fears,
Accelerate the sips if necessary,
It is all good in this slaughtering cause
It may start to rain, inside a dizzy skull,
Or down the front side of a shirt,
Or a blouse, or a piece of skin that is exposed,
Lose a name, maybe yours,
Maybe the names of all of your loves
Wade through the endless comment sections
Of other people around you,
Up, down, left, and right, the ride thrills
Because at the end you will see
You were the most correct of them all along
On the border of asphalt and cement,
By the sea, or facing a puddle,
Wake up. Time to go home for some clarity:
On the other side of the darkness
A stray lightbulb still awaits your shadow
About the artist
Ben Nardolilli is a Manhattan scrivener and a Brooklyn writer. His work has appeared in Perigee Magazine, Door Is a Jar, The Delmarva Review, Red Fez, The Oklahoma Review, JMWW, Quail Bell Magazine, and Slab. Follow his publishing journey on Instagram @ssenjaminnardolilli.
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