Mirror

I looked in the mirror and a woman looked back. I cried. Fat wet drops mixed with makeup and snot made their way into hastily bunched tissues. I laughed. I’d have to redo my face - not the thought I thought I’d have.

My housemate at the bathroom door. I assure them I was okay. A goofy smile. The sort of smile you’re supposed to hide because it’s genuine. I was okay. I am okay. I am genuine.

A deep breath and I had control again. It would be a series of steps. Wipe. Wash. Work. I had found that woman. I would find her again.

Big Shit

So there I was, string tied to my dick as was the local custom, when I felt a great grumbling rumbling in my stumbling. I mean stomach. Why’d I say stumbling? Weird.

Anyhow, my stomach felt like two cats fighting in a burlap sack. It was rough - and I didn’t feel like dealing with whatever was going to erupt. Sure, I’d have to - by accident of anatomy my guts were linked to my mouthhole and my asshole - but it wasn’t going to be the highlight of my day. As the metaphorical cats continued to wrestle, I knew it was time to take decisive action. And decisive action I certainly took. Decisive action I will certainly describe.

I rushed to the door and grabbed my rice paddy hat on the way out. It’d be a real social faux pas to be seen in the streets without a hat and I didn’t want to challenge the local norms. I half-ran, half-waddled my way through the streets as I fought the urge to birth the demon inside me. A real bad butt birth was coming though and there was little I could do to stop it.

Be my Valentine

I think of you most every day
I almost send a text your way
Stopping me, an ugly truth
More of me pushes most away

</3 </3 </3

You said you're sad to see me go
Yet I would gladly stay
My fantasy:

After all these days I hope you know
Three words you have to say:
"Stay for me"

</3 </3 </3

I have the dumbest wishes
Like to kiss your neck while doing dishes
Or hold your hand 'neath a table
While listening to a fishing fable
I know I'm weird, I'm sure to get looks
Should our feet touch when we read books
But that's who I am; I don't think I can change
In a world so bestial, is being tender strange?

The Pale Man

An ember lit up the pale man’s face. After a drag, he hissed the smoke back into the atmosphere. The pale man flicked the cigarette onto the street, red sparks dancing on the ground.

“That’ll kill you someday,” a voice growled from the darkness.

“Gotta die somehow,” the pale man replied.

Medinine (Regional?) Library

Silently swirling
Mixing with student
Their homework math
This poem my own

Escape!

I had almost made it.

The Warden had dozed off in his chair again and I had to take the chance. I had spent hours upon hours, days upon days, chipping, rubbing, wiggling, and otherwise accelerating entropy in the joints, anchors, and locking mechanism of my cell door. The effort was the only thing keeping me sane and, now that the opportunity presented itself, I had to make use of it.

Taking the door off its hinges had been relatively straightforward. What squeaks and thuds the process caused didn’t wake the Warden, inshallah. I approached his little booth in the center of the cells and worked my way in. Quietly, oh so quietly I relieved him of his keys and unlocked the trap door.

The Warden’s booth sat in the center of a dozen cells in a classic panopticon. Prisoners in those cells had a wonderful view of the city from twelve stories up; to exit out the window meant certain death. the panopticon design was a stroke of genius - one guard could watch many prisoners if they never knew exactly when he was watching them through the shaded glass. Unfortunately for the guards and fortunately for the prisoners, the Warden snored.

Bibliotheque National Tunis

Pushing and shoving and
Massive line cutting
"Knowing" your needs better than you
Dirty streets (with delicious eats)
And yelling nonstop
Is just how these Arabs do

Library of Alexandria

Busy road, busy day
From Cairo we raced away
Alexandria at the end
Merely for this poem to pen

Greater Cairo Public Library

I wish I had some gum right now
On which I could be chewing
A small distraction for my mouth
While my mind is brewing
My focus now: a million things
Wants and needs be done
Mastication might slow me down
And allow a moment's fun

Library near Rainbow Road

A shovel full of hummus
And olives bowl by bowl
If I’m not careful
I won’t walk; I’ll roll

Fifty dinars postage
What a dumb thing to do
There’s a dozen cheaper ways
To send fifty “I love you”s