# #drinks 8 poems ## [the zig zag cafe](https://chromato.graphics/the-zig-zag-cafe) mb + [ClaireViolet](https://claireviolet.cv/) switchback stair market manicules labyrinth reveal a hanging garden third place jazz no reservations? but what were we before ourselves finishing a talk with your sister a tinctured fire fluid solidifies all black pupils sadist’s leaning considering want freepouring both lamplight yellow redlight therapy shaken & stirred cry our eyes out point of returns now that we know the place’s ours last words echo. ## [photobooth](https://chromato.graphics/photobooth) shoes stick to the floor, we wander past the bar into a dim red-lit lounge. pinball, locked door, you. you’re a seeing machine. pull your curtain closed— shroud us in secrets that end just above our waist. tap on a train faregate, a beep reminds us that transportation isn’t free, a short trip still costs us. you’re a seeing machine. see what we’re made of. we’re trapped here now, we can’t hide from flash. all whirring and waiting. don’t know how long ’til our capture, our release. we kiss from impatience. you’re a seeing machine. our mouths are blurring, hands in hair, bite marks in flesh. we have no time. falling back into the light. was there music before? we lean against the box, we cannot lose contact. you’re a seeing machine. you take time to develop. wait here: a strip will fall. freeze us in four frames. ![Black-and-white four-frame photobooth strip of two people kissing.](https://chromato.graphics/_astro/photobooth.CBK1CijU_Z184ngP.webp) ## [food](https://chromato.graphics/food) a girl’s gotta eat, grow big & strong food becomes fuel fired brick oven i have reservations, my seat’s set aside gin martini stirred— small coin of lemon. white pressed linens red leather cushions polished steel fixtures scarred marble veins amuse my palate gift from the chef _we kindly request:_ _no sharing allowed_ a girl’s gotta eat, wash away fears enjoy my choices wet lips, appetite taste first with eyes each flavor distinct: salt, grit, acid, burn hungering for it all the first bite builds anticipation of more— a mindless chewing, my posture softens i lick your plate clean _it’s been taken care of_ have i saved any room? no, some other time ## [use](https://chromato.graphics/use) craving total transformation, identity a disposed wrapper. becoming a vessel for want, glass poured into, overfilled. you haven’t been here lately. something in our combining always begins this reaction: photochemical excited state learning how to spark again — days ago: gel, pumps, bulbs, rattling pill bottles and nerves, black gloves, gold foil, silicone. it’s warmed up enough already. don’t ask or guess — just _know_. take a part you claim as yours, shape it to your pleasure. use. time stutters; the gears grind forward under prying pressure. repairing hidden mechanisms, counting every beat yourself. disappearing deconstruction: ripped apart by heat and light, shredded into a thousand tiny pieces of steel. shrapnel blast. there is stillness in oblivion, peace made in the darkness. clenched fists, soaked linen. i swear. i won’t move. i can’t. ## [incision](https://chromato.graphics/incision) half decade wishes: a leveling out. forbidden kisses the right choice, no doubt central park consult king cole martini review old results discard bikinis photograph the curves archives in high gloss the things i preserve, they’ll surely just toss day before phone calls rage at the system its stops, starts, & stalls need to assist him sleep, holding a heart cleanse every surface wrong name on the chart _of course you deserve this_ wave as the doors close _don’t use the “b” word_ eat eggs as you doze the artwork looks blurred a husband’s phone rings let me inside there treat you like a king hold cups as your care bumpy ride that night late rooftop phone call two beams of bright light never forget fall a week goes by fast managing your pain see yourself at last straight scars and no drain i cry more than you do it hits me deeply this thing that you choose didn’t come cheaply a body transformed like overnight oats years since your plans formed i’ll keep taking notes ## [poison](https://chromato.graphics/poison) the black bottle kept just out of reach of those who fear my obsidian liquid a toxicology report: deadly in large doses but taken with care the hurting heals us sure, share a nightcap wince with me in pain we need this to sting no easier, knowing it small sips are sweet deeper drinks, bitter stone fruit can’t mask a burning this intense scared to let you see me like this — red eyes pierce pewter framing you want, no, need to as the spirit fully hits there’s no stopping this             _drink._ the cork is broken now ## [stick](https://chromato.graphics/stick) winter cherry, lush pressed to the pane : clear swirling glass, vessels for grapes red print attracts gazes from gays strange artifacts mouths go astray first contact lasts longer than stains washed away fast — much like our brains they always say lips that disguise can’t be the way, but never the why shouldn’t we just paint what we feel even if lips must become the meal ## [accident(ily)](https://chromato.graphics/accidentily) one fifty-four is not the hour to send texts, no autocorrect risky confessions clipped affections dimmed i love you’s from neon rooms could be a typo should i just lol or say her name, reply the same? an oops can’t erase the thrumming bass as juniper slips from her bruised lips tripping on her tongue _fuck. uhh. drunk. umm._ not that not yet or at least — not like this