all writings done by sam liptak
all art done by ryan tipps

prologue

two diverging souls, attached at the thigh
lost, and upon meeting, missing
with all that was said, left in lustful sighs
tongues twisting, and blood savored kissing
and the bodies red stream in question
which was such an accustomed (still horrific) occurence
due to the dark souls lust for aggression
and the facts and figures he shut down, declaring 'pretense'
from the city of (un)brotherly love to the second
switchblades so sweetly christened by (and alike) her, a strawberry
the same sweetness he dubbed as a weapon
he thinks of this as he sits upon his throne of red-soaked rosemary
where two tongues become set alite
for love, gore, and the horrible people you latch on in life

act i

i've met someone on my walk today
you know i don't usually go on walks
i thought it'd be nice to go out
philly seems mean, and that scares me
the person i met didn't tell me his name
he had a black eye that looked fresh
his lip was bleeding
it was a weird feeling of horror and sympathy
i had napkins in my pockets, you know i always have them on me
he was leaning against the wall breathing really heavy
i walked up to him with a napkin
as the blood dripped down his lip
i didn't know what to say, so i just showed him the napkin
i couldn't speak, he just looked at it,
he gently held my wrist and pushed the napkin up to his mouth
i tried to let go but he kept it there
it felt like hours before i said something, i told him my name
he just said 'cute' and let go of my hand, i started blushing
and then he left

his name is ezra
i think i'm in love with him

we hung out today
,or i hung out with him
he showed me what he calls
'the city of unbrotherly love'
which was just really horrible places
around philadelphia, it makes me want to leave kind of
we went to the cemetery and he pulled out a switchblade
i had thought aloud, 'strawberry switchblade'
i really like that band
he smiled and walked over to a tree
he carved 'strawberry switchblade was here'
i smiled, even though he defaced a cemetery tree.
i was flattered, why was i flattered
he then sat down and i sat down next to him
he said 'do you know about chekhov's gun?'
i did but i shook my head, just wanting to hear him talk
he wasn't all that talkative, but when he did it sounded
like some form of slam poetry, but better
'if you introduce a gun in the first act,
somebody's got to use that gun,
they just have to, it's the rule of theatre'
i responded 'oh, cool' and he responded
'you're real cute'
he kissed my cheek and held my thigh before walking off,
leaving me in a romantic and flustered daze
i can't stop thinking about it
fuck
i want him to do that again

he came to my apartment
fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

now that i've composed myself,
he kissed me,
and he tasted like rosemary and blood?
he said i tasted like strawberry
i don't want to tell everything
he called me strawberry
i've never blushed that much from anyone
he has a way with words
he knows how to do something to me
fuck, this is moving so fast,
i've never felt more alive?
that's an over reaction,

i took a walk today,
some big guys confronted me
they asked if i've seen
'a little fucker with a black eye'
'ezekiel or something,'
i froze and they just stared
ezra? ezra, oh god ezra
i shook my head and they left

i went to the cemetary where he carved
the strawberry switchblade into the tree
there was a new carving,
it was 'c+e'
i think i almost cried,
he must've been here,

i'm on a manhunt and i think those men are too
i went home and there was a post-it
'i don't have yr number,
i'll see you, sweetheart'
i'm blushing, i'm worried
fuck i'm crying hold on

i had a nightmare
i was standing in a field
ezra was there
he kept yelling
something in latin
and then he set me on fire
and i could feel it
my face on fire

he fucking came
he was here and i gave him a bath
oh my god
ok, his face
his face was all bruised
and his knees were scraped up
oh god
give me a moment

its 8 in the morning
last night is so vivid in my mind
he knocked on my door and he
had two black eyes and a busted
lip, his jeans were fucked
and his knees were scraped
he said 'hey' and immediately
hugged him and started crying
i took him to the bath
and let him watch
there might still be blood
in the bath
he went to sleep on my bed and i slept next to him
i woke up and he was gone
he left a post-it
'i have yr number now,
i'll call you,
i'm sorry'
he didn't say anything last night

epilogue

ezra is somewhere,in the nowhere northwest
or whatever he calls it. he could be dead
beaten senseless outside a bar
he always does that,
he says it reminds him he's alive
he's one of those people
the cigarette between teeth people
he constantly worried me
hunched over the sink with the thought of his lifeless body
i hope he's dead
i'm sorry, i'm not sure if i mean that

I heard a rumor that love is coming to town
are you going to ____ me?, i'm kidding of course. i'll be the first one
and god knows i'll be the last one.
there was a witch hunt,
they haven't found you yet,
they'll find you out, connie
they'll ____ you connie,
they'll ____ and ____ you
just like those mongols
it's love and gore pouring out the same faucet,
see you in hell,
love, ezra