Jenna felt clumsy and awkward, as if she were in her great aunt Myrtle’s china room as a bumbling eight year old. Everything around her glittered. Her gawkiness hadn’t gotten much better with age. She was on her best behavior, as if manners were limbs keeping her bobbing head above water. Waves of imperfection crashed over her but everyone else glided over the gleaming floor, chatting and nodding at each other with ease....

Hissing waves of sea foam fatigue Slip through my coiled spine, shattering the bones into anemic flesh I flail through the violent surface, spitting lungfuls of torture, my blind eyes open wide as slumber’s suffocation scrapes for my flesh Twisting from its grasp, I awaken to your warm breath strong fingers at my breasts satin lips on my neck and your soft murmur vibrating through my pores I turn press my face to yours, s...

When I held my mother’s corpse in my arms, I knew I was next. I hadn’t felt much emotion since. I didn’t need to. Just had to work. There was nothing, no point to my life but that. As I did every night, I thought of her when I stretched the obituaries out over the stained and shredding carpet. Newspapers had become smaller, the articles and photographs more compact since she’d been alive. But searching the paper was bette...

Decaying soil  Fertilizes the flesh at my knees The grave beneath me unmarked Ground unmolested But memories rave of what was here. Heart. Respect. Joy. Bleached by insidious surrender To a reticent poison. Fear won here. But I rise, Eyes of tears And spine popping erect Your dark eyes beckon My honey combed hope. Your arm rises To offer a mirage Fear screams from death Beneath me But my feet peel away Ground sucking at m...

In this most quiet of midnights A clock ticks, Pulling apart webs of dreams Each beat Penetrates my mind, Spreading awareness to my weary conscience  My eyes open, Yesterday’s filth Like sweat on my cold skin Staining my spirit and beckoning the darkness To fold me in The sheets sigh Tug and whisper to my flesh Your arms slip around my waist Fingers grasp my breasts Forearms against my stomach Heat Substance Sliding me ba...

A clatter smashed the quiet. Samantha exchanged a glance with her best friend and followed her to the kitchen. “Five!” Imani’s husband yelled. With his sneakers propped on the counter behind him, his rolling pin flattened the dough on the island countertop with each makeshift push up. Flour caked his muscled forearms. “Andre!” “What, baby?” He dropped to his feet, tossing an arm around Imani and rustling her wild curls. “...

Soaring upon your thrusts, Clinging to your whispers, My whimpers tangle in moans. I scream. Clutching your back, Colliding with sweat, I arc against you And take flight. Speeding into darkness Hooking onto shadows Severing should haves And should nots Gasping, groaning Fingers claw my heated flesh Strident growls Drug my mind Pleading in a hundred tongues Harder Faster You shove deep. My chasm floods, Milking your erupti...

Sitting in obscurity, Drowning in thought, I plunge my hand Deep into the cold, moist soil Surrounding me And sigh in relief For something tangible. Movement to my side Makes me turn. Grappling arms of midnight Stretch to capture A straining Kaleidoscope of light, A form that won’t heed. The blackness snaps. Its talons burst, Splaying into expiring smoke And ricocheting back To wherever home may be. I gather my knees to m...

Cigarette smoke seared Stacey’s lungs. Her heart ached, her body burned, and she knew what she was about to do was wrong. Screw it. It’s over. She toggled from photo to video and hoped the cell wouldn’t cut off mid-way. “Got it?” “Yeah.” Turning around, she bumped into Matt’s protruding cock. “Jesus.” The thing was a monster. Her legs wobbled. Mouth salivating, she licked her lips and clenched her fingers. For the first t...

I’ll meet you in clouds of darkness Across a rolling storm And settle into your embrace, Lose myself in the breath Of your glittering voice Pouring over my skin Away from blinking lights Accusing faces And morality’s thumb Engulfed in the abyss Of your aphotic eyes You capture my spirit Subdue my virtue Pull me Into a hurricane of flesh and limbs With touches sweet as whispers And words like lace You drown me Wrench desir...

Randy awoke as Jasmine’s warm body lifted from hers. The ends of the girl’s blonde hair swept over her breast and stomach as she pulled herself into a sitting position. It was the first time she could survey her without the pixie knowing, the first uncompromised view she’d had of how she’d be when she didn’t know she was being watched. In her experience, those moments were more indicative of people’s true selves than anyt...

“No!” Jasmine thrashed, trying to disentangle her arms from her own tank top as Randy sat back up. Her lover shoved beside her, grabbed the wheel, and slammed on the brake just as Jasmine wrenched a hand free to smack against the dash so she wouldn’t fall again. Randy palmed the shifter and maneuvered it back in place. She stared at the steering wheel, her face frozen. Unblinking. It was as if they’d ripped a thin celloph...

“Bitch is about like tits on a bull. Fuckin’ worthless.” The redneck’s slurred voice carried to Jasmine as she poured his next beer. Fuckers. She swirled the glass in her hand, foam circling the edges of the dark liquid. Daring her. Smiling, she swished her tongue in her mouth, gathering a thick dollop of saliva, and spat in the drink. She swirled it once more, letting it cling to the foam, and walked back to the counter....

Your skin slides against mine, A silent plea From an ancient ache You’d warned me Turned away Ignored me Did everything to make me turn too. Yet between jagged shadows, Under the blanket of cold, Moonlight melted Over the curve of your shoulders And I released you From all expectation From all future ties From all responsibility to my heart Now from the ashes of care Burns a body of need Primitive, desperate Every hard pl...

Spilling your fears, Then painting false humor, You slink into the night. As if it never happened. As if you’d never before parted your lips Or stolen the air. Blind, I follow. Stumbling through shadows, Bound to your footsteps. Inhale. Exhale. Shallow fires of breath. I step forth, Whispering your name Into the heavy quiet. Lines of gloom shift As your body turns, Facing me From your private hell. “Go,” you whisper. My f...