beauty in the world

After American Beauty (1999) 

we talk about life as we talk about death, with a fondness that only gets sweeter as it gets nearer. blood blinds us as we become bystanders to temptation and tragedy. the life of a man whose daily existence births rivers of vermillion. an indicator of all the cardinal sins he is about to commit. 

legs spread wide, as though

in a formaldehyde bath

dressed down for Lester

bathe a girl in rose petals, let her saliva thicken into milk. each day begins the same, with a masturbation session, my spunk in the shower drain. everybody in this neighbourhood acts like they’re in the Truman Show. I feel like a damn nun who’s living in a strip club, exceptionally out of place. 

as my head bled well

they wondered what had become 

of daddy dearest

ole’ ricky

After American Beauty (1999)

 

talk to me through the 

gaps in your shaded window 

whisper sweet nothings 

into my tiger balm ears 

press your wound into my own



Courtenay S. Gray is a writer from the North of England. She has been featured in publications such as Maudlin House, Daily Drunk Mag and Red Fez. She was nominated for a Pushcart Prize (2020). Courtenay was a runner up for the 2021 Literary Lancashire Award in Poetry. She also has a poetry collection (Strawberry) out with Alien Buddha Press. Twitter: @courtenaywrites / Blog: www.courtenayscorner.com