by Carella Keil
Dead Wax
for Greg
Planning my emotional itinerary for the day
I couldn’t not drop by the record shop
my fingers doing the rolodex shuffle
wondering if it’s a myth some
do what they love & nothing else
& there a pirate pressing of me
scratched to hell warped in a backseat
of some disrespectful gremlin’s car
but with grooves & only three bucks
so I took it home & dropped a needle
& 16 icy slides across dead wax later
socks mid-calf joint in my mouth
flipping a burger like vinyl
caramelized onions on toasted bun
it’s kind of surf psych
with a tight R&B bassline
head bobbing I notice an address
scribbled on the inner sleeve.
A road trip & I’m face to face
with simulacra of me in the wax museum
of my life someone else’s flawed
memories still truer than my own
my first drum set gas station food
argument after argument with Katherine
puking in a hotel lobby after her wedding
laughing with her about it years later
stiff limbs failing to mimic motion
melted beads like sweat the exhibits
wouldn’t be un-climate-controlled
if these were the villains of history
generals presidents pop stars
not me shitting my diaper
a bowl cut acne saved by a lifeguard
whole scenes dedicated to hangovers
my secret life on display
& it all started in some nerd’s basement
my parents making love like lathe to acetate
like hatchet to dead wax.
Dustin King would always rather be sneaking a bottle of wine into a movie theater. When nothing good is playing, he teaches Spanish and runs a small organization that provides aid to the undocumented community in Richmond, VA. His poems pop up in the Potomac Review, Ligeia, Drunk Monkeys, and Sublunary Review. His poem “The Middle” appears in The Time Issue of Feral. You can find him reading his poetry on IG @dustinking82.
Carella Keil is a writer and digital artist who splits her time between the ethereal world of dreams, and Toronto, Canada, depending on the weather. Her art has appeared recently on the covers of Glassworks Magazine, Colors: The Magazine, and Frost Meadow Review, and is forthcoming on the cover of Straylight Magazine. Her art has also been featured in Skyie Magazine, Existere, Burningword, Chestnut Review and The Field Guide Poetry Magazine. instagram.com/catalogue.of.dreams twitter.com/catalogofdream