←        POIESIS 1.2 :: SYZYGY        →

LONG AGO,
            I     S P R A W L E D.
I WAS THE OCEAN FLOOR
            I WAS AN ASTRONAUT, A COSMONAUT
            Still impressive,
                               I am now
                               Harry Houdini
                               in the worlds'
                               smallest box 

Less impressive,
I am covered in my own piss
which is soaking into the cracks between the linoleum tiles
in the shitty kitchen
of the shitty apartment
I live in
with my shitty ex boyfriend
(But he is not home)

Serenity, alone
It's rare
To feel love
From inside
Serenity, together
It's hard
To have help
from outside

An hour and a phone call later

A friend hoists you up and carries you
Mopping your floor
wiping your genitals
Tenderly, platonically
The way we hoped had already happened for the last time
A moment between you as a baby and you as a parent
Before you gained a real memory
That moment is happening right now
But still your whole childhood has yet to happen

JULIET JOHNSON is a work in progress based in Bloomington, IN. A survivor of a myriad of strange ailments and even stranger circumstances, Juliet brings their inner machinations and ruminations on a mechanical human perspective into perspective. 

Originally published August 2020 in poiesis 1.2: syzygy by w the trees.