Friday, January 23, 2026

mouth

By Julian Payne 

-

sucking on a roach standing by the pool 

and i'm watching you

pink and chapped, wrapped 

around the filter

 

passing a bottle back and forth and

back and forth and

i am very aware of yours and mine

and yours and mine and 

 

a strand of spit snaps me

out of it,

and i think how lovely it would be

to see that spit spill onto my

pillow in the morning

 

but tomorrow all i'll have to show

for my hard work is

two sticky kisses and 

a hangover


About the Author 

Julian Payne is a young man attempting to reach an acceptable word count for his biography for the Illinois Central review. He also wrote a poem. He may write more.   

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