by Romardo Lyons
I AM IN NEED
but i don’t think it bothers you. my exposed gut twists and buckles with anxiety, emancipating the remains of the leftovers i stole from a patron’s plate at my serving job an hour earlier. the well-seasoned pizza sauce will soil the sidewalk for a night at least, reeking of basil and bile. i think you are bailing on pick up so i wipe my mouth on my sleeve and begin to trudge home. when i step across the threshold, your hostile hands shoot straight for my bag, grabbing my cash and dashing for the door. in your rush you forget that bruises exist, so i take pictures of the plums proliferating on my skin. i don’t plan on using them but my mother always told me you can never be too safe. i want to do something that makes sense. so i scrub my molars and spit violently into the sink, the taste of toothpaste masking the scent of my oregano-tinged tongue. i know i need to go out and find you or i will be bailing your drunk ass out of jail tomorrow. or rather, i suppose that’s what you need. what i need is steady ground to stand on. what i need is what i thought you were, a man steeped in ginger. something to settle the stomach. heart open as the great plains, nothing obstructing our view, with so much room to build on. but what i need is not important right now. what i need has never been important. i roll a cigarette and step into the night to call your name.
April Renee is a chronically ill, chronically creative poet residing in Portland, Oregon. (USA) She has been writing and performing poetry since age nine and harbors a great passion for the craft. April sees writing as an opportunity to explore her identity as a disabled, queer woman and is not afraid to touch on taboo topics or tap into the rawest part of the human heart. Her work can be found on Instagram @aprilreneepoetry.
Romardo Lyons is a Jamaican award-winning journalist, poet, visual artist, and film maker. He is 24-years-old and has been in the field of journalism for just under three years. He is the 2020 recipient of the Edward Baugh Poetry Prize, which is a highly coveted award hosted annually by the National library of Jamaica (NLJ). Twitter and Instagram: @romardolyons.