Stephen Zerance
 
 
Says Narcissus to the Mirror

Call me stud, stallion—
I’ll tell you what it’s like to be

desired, everything met
with yes. When you lie

with man’s emotions, he
gives you things. My body—

a death machine, I’ve demons
under the bed, destroyer

personality taken over.
I want you to come

with me now, quiet
as magma. Do you need

to be alone, have you punched
a wall, smiled at the camera?

Please unhinge the limiter
in your mouth, turn the flowers

to stone. I’m the child
you’ve been given, reborn

in paradise, burning chariot in head.
This is a madness of two where I drink myself.
 
 

Stephen Zerance’s poems have appeared in journals such as West Branch, Prairie Schooner, Assaracus, Knockout, and others. He has also been featured on Lambda Literary and Split This Rock. He received his MFA from American University and currently resides in Baltimore, MD. His chapbook Caligula’s Playhouse is due this spring from Mason Jar Press.