A Cheer for the Dwarf Clown

by Jay Coral

thank you dwarf clown
if i were a child again
i will invite you on my birthday party
and you will be playing man-child with us
you and your man's body and short limbs
will be dolls and toy soldiers to our delight
you will be a walking sphinx to gape-struck mothers
haha imagine the circus of confusion in their faces
your face will be covered by a mascara
but us children will not see through your bulging eyes
the ugliness you hide nor your soul's lacerations
after i blow the candle and make a wish
i will tell you you are a clean shapen creature
then i will smash the cake in your face
you will growl and show us your pointy incisors
but it will be a happy growl.

Girl of Interest

by Jay Coral

i hate her for being in her shoes
moreso i hate myself for being on the same shoes
after approaching the girl only to find out
we are both a mismatch in group chemistry
she reminds me of my own sparkle
a figure shining aloof in the keyhole
a perspective bridged without camera obscura
it is a glorious peepshow
i can see my sweet target
the vindication of my sweet revenge
pumping my wounded pride
i am mad
and scared to meet my body-double
i want to clobber myself and her
and be this unspeakable monster
but then i would be unrelateable - again
no one to share promises of looming clouds
and doses of healthy and hinging laughs
i leave her unscathed
my sympathy unavowed
my hubris in my stomach
burning.

Love Letter of a Cultured Courtesan to his Smutty Suitor

by Jay Coral

Please do not Petrarch me
with your lovely words
i won't shovel cheaply empty lines
your dirty poems especially
to impress on my silky lingerie
and your decadent gifts
like the hard-on that you cannot sustain
let the roses wither
and chocolates goo into slime that you are
read me something tasteless
perhaps i might be blindsided
but please don't romanticize.