Generational Addictions
by Julianna May
I feel them
call to me:
lusts of blood
flesh
inebriation.
Sirens of the mind
made like this
in this
image
where images of naked
women lying enjoyment stick
like coagulants in blood
and the alcohol
it’s stained
with.
I am stained
in women
like twisted helixes
wrapping around each
other
craving
more
craving to fall prey
to sweet liquor
from down the street
crashing my cycle
hit a telephone pole
and run
yet still lose
a license to live
my mouth opens for
the drink but
tastes blood when
biting my tongue
then calls out
for more. watch it drain
in the baby blue tub
wrap my arm
in a sheer pink and blue
head band
so people may think i’m
metal
not deranged
or stained
this trifold addiction,
circular in nature
the life cycle of
a mantis
if the one she ate after
was herself.
Julianna May (she/her) is an ex-horse girl, ex-Christian, and ex-hetero. She loves teaching English and ranting about Shakespeare. She has previously been published in Crepe & Penn Magazine, Nightingale and Sparrow Magazine, Wingless Dreamer Anthology, and others. Instagram: juliannamaypoetry Twitter: JuliannaMay1216