FANZINE

ASTRAL PROJECT MY PUSSY

Sometimes when I am
having sex with
you I like
to pretend that I am no
longer inhabiting my
body.

Not because I don’t
enjoy it but
because it seems
counterintuitive
for what we
are trying
to accomplish.

There is no joy
in arms no
intimacy
in knees no
transcendence
in toes
so let us
dissolve
their existence.

 

 

 

29TH STREET, MANHATTAN

The best catcall I ever got
started out regular,
with the man saying,
Hey baby.

I had just left my therapist
where I started
crying uncontrollably
in the middle, and left
feeling shaky
and split open,

so I was in no mood.

He was with his friends
and changed his
tune so fast:
calling me stank ass,
and that no one wanted
me anyway,
that I needed
to eat some chicken
and eggs.

I think maybe he meant
steak.

I yelled at him
to fuck off, faggot—
a thing I would not
normally say but
it had the
desired effect.

I got onto the subway
before something
worse could happen.
I never went back
to that therapist.
She called me several times,
wondering if I was OK,
but it seemed impossible
to call back
or pick up the phone.

 

 

 

WIN FRIENDS, INFLUENCE PEOPLE

I learned by reading two poetry books
– one from McSweeney’s and the other
lauded in The New Yorker –
that my poems make too much sense.
I need to make less sense.
Three blind mice.

They also need more sex
so here
you
go:

Also I think I might be too pretty.
So it’s a good thing I am aging
and gaining weight
because I want the people
to find me
relatable.

 

 

 

ALL THE BAD NEWS IN 2014
(UPDATE: ALSO IN 2015, AND 2016 TOO)

When something bad happens in the collective consciousness
you can hear some real pain
but mostly it is obfuscated by the static
of people saying:
“I care too.”
“I am sensitive.”
“I promise you I am a good person.”

 

 

 

TRUE STORY

The most honest act I can do
is pop a pimple and watch
the pus squirt onto the
mirror.
Everything else is
dishonest,
deceitful,
a cover-up.

——————

_{Juliet Escoria is the author of Witch Hunt (Lazy Fascist 2016) and Black Cloud (CCM/Emily Books 2014). She was born in Australia, raised in California, and currently lives in West Virginia. For more, go to julietescoria.com.}