by Joe Lugara
(doom)scrolls
you dance amidst the pixelated glow of the algorithm
blue light like an interrogation room—you are the ones and zeros
of the algebra class our warehoused (un)gifted peers were forced into
at age seven. i can’t help but see you creeping through the screen
anytime i log onto social media—my wannabe casanova who
somehow never leaves the house—my social experiment—
your what-if-i-was-gay-for-someone—and my what if i was gay
for life herself? you come out to me while i break open
text me while i learn that the mute button
is an even better invention than penelope scott and liminal spaces
text me that you’re asleep, and i don’t believe you but finally
feel myself jolting aware after months of radio silence
manufactured repression, the cold air of our respective suburbs
intermingling, carceral enough to contain you
restraint only makes me more feral, you said
trying to explain why you casually repressed me, why
you took the role of the statist when the mantle of the victim
was already taken, the black-and-white of what was once twitter
glowing on your skin—you are my X in more ways than one—
doomscroll to forget me while i make every attempt
to forget that we could only spell impending doom.
mk zariel {it/its} is a transmasculine lesbian poet, theater artist, movement journalist, & insurrectionary anarchist. it is fueled by folk-punk, Emma Goldman, and existential dread. it can be found online at https://linktr.ee/mkzariel, creating conflictually queer-anarchic spaces, and being mildly feral in the great lakes region. it is kinda gay ngl.
Joe Lugara took up painting and photography as a boy after his father discarded them as hobbies. His works depict unusual forms, inexplicable phenomena, and fantastic dreamscapes, taking as their basis horror, science fiction, and fantasy films produced from the 1930s through the late 1960s. Mr. Lugara’s work has appeared in more than 25 publications and numerous exhibitions. His painting series “Scrutiny” was featured in the winter 2023 issue of The Harvard Advocate and his photos in the summer ’23 Denver Quarterly. His first photography book, The Indicators: 127 Sci-Fi Scenes, is available through Barnes and Noble. www.joelugara.com; www.instagram.com/joelugara; www.facebook.com/joelugara1art.