pandemic #9

Jason Fraley


[fungibility] is a distant cousin to fugue state rapture blare, light pockets, & I’m
reminded that I love accordions more prophets didn’t eulogize real-time demand
destruction [ ] bears no relation to fullness, satiation target monks, their
hairshirts once unthreaded, a cure for baldness after that, mandatory beards for
women & mules [ ] seeks divorce from tangible here’s the equation for
dreams swirled inchoate heat grass, leaves, rusted rake prongs let contents
steep for 10 seconds hint of hibiscus & cardamom anything else: gluttonous
plus an upcharge [ ] correlates weakly to flung as in space-flung
astronauts, war-flung sons where awe dissipates as the vitrine smudges [ ]
is almost incestuous with fungus admire my artificial nose, its silk vibrissae my
coxswain heart rushes as I discover one musky cavity after another emptiness,
even fragrant, is commoditized unless the thought of losing even this [ ]
overwhelms


JASON FRALEY is a native West Virginian who lives, works, and periodically writes in Columbus, OH. Current and prior publications include Salamander Magazine, Barrow Street, Jet Fuel Review, Quarter After Eight, Mid-American Review, and Okay Donkey.

The art that appears alongside this piece is by GARRETT FULLER.