MERCURY-MARVIN
SUNDERLAND
Mercury-Marvin Sunderland (he/him) is a transgender autistic gay man with Borderline Personality Disorder. He's from Seattle and currently attends the Evergreen State College. He's been published by University of Amsterdam's Writer's Block, UC Davis' Open Ceilings, UC Riverside's Santa Ana River Review, UC Santa Barbara's Spectrum, and The New School's The Inquisitive Eater. His lifelong dream is to become the most banned author in human history. He's @RomanGodMercury on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
[ ]
1. didn’t she
used to be
the exception
born among gorgons
yet human
yet beautiful
the [ ]
of her hair
after
[
[
[
of poseidon
her hands trembled
on temple floors
cold marble
could only be
her welcome
[
athena
raged of
[
every strand of her joy
grew into
scales
ending with fangs
dripping with venom
only mortal soul
of her
gorgon sisters
no longer beauty
only beast
and how her stare
did turn sight
to statue
2. didn’t she
only want
to protect herself
wasn’t
[
punishment enough
she didn’t need
to have her beauty
robbed from her
[
[
as she hid
came the man
the mortal perseus
was guided by the gods
stalked her by
the shoes of hermes
terrorized the
greae
stole their eye
cowered behind
athena’s mirrored shield
from only there
could she be [
without stone
sliced her neck
with a sickle
oh punish her
for what was already
punishment
[
[
from her neck
blood wept
smearing over
his hands
at night cry
the gorgons
of their [ ]
3. oh perseus
cleaned the blood
from his
unshaky
fingers
to him
this was just
another monster.
[
he took
the severed head
and stowed it [ ]
in his bag
for safekeeping
[
reduce her to
a simple tool
a weapon.
and with
the object
he made of her
he used
her dead gaze
[
[
turned king [ ]
to stone.
after all
her dead body
was given
no burial.
from object
[
[
of all
[
[
didn’t she
used to be
the exception
born among gorgons
yet human.
CAN OF PINEAPPLE RINGS
today i threw out
the can of pineapple rings
because they got covered in mold.
i hadn’t thought
that a can of fruit
drowning in juice
could go bad so easily
as if all that acid
meant nothing.
when you eat
raw pineapple
the acids inside
eat away at meat
which is why you’re left with that
funky feeling
of chemicals
eating your tongue
& grill it
as a meat tenderizer.
tomorrow i will
go grocery shopping
& buy new cans of the
forbidden fruit.
acid juices
preserve
acid rings.
cheap tin somehow
won’t be eaten away
only thrown out
when it has lost
all that i can contain.
HOLY WATER OF FLOWERS
three (3) sprits
on my collarbone
one (1) sprit
on my left shoulder
one (1) sprit
on my left wrist
repeat on my right
two (2) sprits
just right above
my forehead
& then
i set the pink perfume
on the counter
& put on
my pink eyeshadow
just behind
my pink glasses
then i will put on
my dangly pink star earrings
later i will put on
my pink teddy bear purse
& drink from
my pink water bottles
sitting on my
fluffy pink chair pillow
&
with my perfume
i give myself
my own holy water
of flowers
spray it
kind of like
the cross
& i know that
a lot of people
think i look pretty funky
because i’m a
tattooed bearded buff guy
& my favorite color is pink
that pink flower water
gives me that
confidence boost
it’s
been a long time
since i last went to church
& i actually miss
being religious.
one day i think
i will go back
to my
gay church.
covered in rainbows
because god loves all.
but for now
i spray
my flower water
& thank this world
for all things
bright and beautiful.
FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY
float like a butterfly
sting like a bee
bite like a bed bug
roll like a scarab
weave like a spider
drink like a mosquito
dig like an earthworm
anger like a wasp
rub like a housefly
infest like a cockroach
eat like a termite
strut like a ladybug
spin like a silkworm
smell like a stinkbug
itch like a louse
follow like a moth
sing like a cricket
scream like a cicada
jump like a grasshopper
fly like a dragonfly
glow like a firefly
shimmy like a silverfish
threaten like an earwig
bite like a tick
shine like a beetle
slime like a slug
nomad like a snail
work like an ant
float like a butterfly
sting like a bee.