bethany lines 13/9/25 bethany lines 13/9/25

the market for reverie is suffering

billow of sunlight, storm of morning
we knew about nothing—it was sweet
and we knew it too, we were bare-foot
duller then, much happier, apparently
it is much easier to kiss if there is no
proof of time passing. pleasure was a clean wound; i could touch yours.

bethany lines 16/8/25 bethany lines 16/8/25

olivia

olivia, i saw you on the stage today
electric breath i saw you bathe
in their viral applause; song&dance
kisses in the air hanging there, all silk fast fame frozen-over
a lake; all tears in spades, moss at the break
of your hairline

bethany lines 12/8/25 bethany lines 12/8/25

radiates, vindicates, a hound

iron-rich clay from the monumental motel door-frame you stood in completely naked, stroking the inside of your calf making this noise it was a bristling kiss of a candle on wet wind as it lit, two lips; like that, baby.

bethany lines 29/7/25 bethany lines 29/7/25

winter, what do you want from me?

the publishers, they

like this

kind of

muck

about waiting

pining

being lost

bethany lines 6/7/25 bethany lines 6/7/25

dissection of any body

i imagined
being up against you
the far reaches of you
edges, corners
multifarious beings
disguised
cloaked in skin
of you
i wanted you
to despise me

bethany lines 8/6/25 bethany lines 8/6/25

before hands there was nothing

but it is just me, i am just the lungs
i am just a soft glow in the middle of the night
waking myself up
i am not made of metal i am made of you
i am young and i love to play
i play on my shins, the curve of my foot arched into my bones, nestled completely
living completely

bethany lines 13/3/25 bethany lines 13/3/25

kinder, christening

i do not blame my mind for it’s theatrics; i pray, and try
to overcome the performance of a lifetime
living
except nothing special ever happens, only death
so until there’s proof in emptiness, i find it
in sitting, waiting for a story i cannot write to fall upon my lap

bethany lines 14/2/25 bethany lines 14/2/25

lies i tell

when you asked me what i wanted
i begged you, get the blinds
and so i used my hands to teach you
about your body, earthquakes, the divides
between us and mankind

bethany lines 15/1/25 bethany lines 15/1/25

evening’s vowels

the vowels that i wed myself with; the affirmations of mourning; vulnerability survives everything, even you

bethany lines 4/12/24 bethany lines 4/12/24

horrorifying questions to ask your lover

have you too seen the top of the ivory tower? that acute bliss of creation, made right from your own mouth? the breast which hangs half-heartedly from the towel? the suspension of disbelief until it arrives quite like a friend?

bethany lines 9/11/24 bethany lines 9/11/24

merciful

at dawn’s pink answering, my buzzing flesh ceased
life’s bell had called upon me—it was young and miserable then
in black bleating sheep came the pale lying misery

bethany lines 20/10/24 bethany lines 20/10/24

quis sum ego?

crawling out of me like first light

the self as an expression of desire

dark with smile, a mindless flashing through

an infinite dryness of being

bethany lines 23/9/24 bethany lines 23/9/24

for the: bubble fairy

bless you, baby-blue! the sky stretched a mile high
the day dance ended at bare tapping feet and the crowded ball-room
wrinkly pictures to bend but no performer could, bust an arm

bethany lines 2/8/24 bethany lines 2/8/24

knock it off already

piss-drunk on the playing field, the otherness chattering like dark hell
you went white surprised by fun, lashing right out of your clumsy tongue
“it’s no place for you, this one”, but ha i could’ve gutted you right there