A Good King
Silence can be forgiveness or its opposite,
so it becomes the place I stay. Looking in the mirror
I see the black fly in every still-life, forever waiting
for the painted fruit to spoil. Time to eat.
I miss strawberry lemonade, glazed steaks of red velvet,
the way I used to take hits of sugar like kisses.
Taunted by all of the meals I once craved:
This is how God first reveals himself to me. A good king
knows how to keep what he owns. Now all I want
is to hear what Paul Thomas Anderson whispered
into Fiona Apple’s ear to make her cry in public.
But I have a feeling I’ve heard it all before. A good king
knows how to keep what he owns. In the morgue
all of the undigested food will be scraped with sharp
chrome from my stomach, & this will be
my final embarrassment.
Nursery Rhyme
Jigglypuff
Nicorette
early detection
pregnancy tests
sweet potato
dipped in milk
polyester
feels like silk
phenibut
modafinil
Senokot
Benadryl
seltzer water
cigarettes
I won’t get better
I don’t forget
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Francesca Kritikos is the editor-in-chief of SARKA, a journal and publisher focused on works of the flesh. Her books of poetry and prose include SWEET BLOODY SALTY CLEAN, In the Bed of Sickness, Exercise in Desire, and Animals Don’t Go to Hell. Her writing has appeared in English and Greek in Blue Arrangements, Hot Pink Mag, The Quarterless Review, Dream Boy Book Club, ITERANT, Hobart, Wonder, Blush Lit, Spectra, Hartis, and elsewhere. She has recently been interviewed for the Chicago Reader, Tyger Quarterly, and Nothing in Particular. She attended the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England where she graduated with first-class honors in 2017.
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Giuliana Eggleston is a writer and photographer living in Acme, Michigan.
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