As It Is by Amanda Deutch after "After Lucian Freud" by A.H., "Drink" by L.P., "Listen to the Blue" by J.K.D., and "Fire-Making For " by B.B.B.

AS IT IS

one of those out in the wild days
wolves settle on shoulders
burrow underneath.
steal off, start fires.
sting. abbreviated landscapes
choke the memory.
brain untucked

in the aftermath of that whisky,
Bob, the bartender at Fanelli’s
mocks you, your life in heavy pours
of the sinking glass.
what’s been found slides
into your bedsheets.
body falls brazenly into now

t.v screens spill blue light
over heavy tits.
where we are
is torn from above
thick
with dirty grace in
primal folds of empty streets