MERCURY SUNDERLAND

Dec 14, 2024
4 min read

Mercury Sunderland (he/him) is an autistic gay trans man. He's been published by University of Amsterdam's Writer's Block, University of British Columbia's Decomp, UC Davis' Open Ceilings, UC Riverside's Santa Ana River Review, and UC Santa Barbara's Spectrum.

DINNER WITH HOMER SIMPSON

my dad says,

if i were to have dinner

with any fictional character,

it would be homer simpson

because he’s passionate about life

& he’d gladly eat anything.

i set the tablecloth

& put on the classical music

fancy forks & fine china

line each edge

of this magnificent table

& with my hand inside

the cablebox

i bring out our first-course meal

of krusty burgers.

did you know i was originally going to be

krusty the clown

says homer

when we first enjoy

frosty chocolate milkshakes

poured into wine glasses.

he sees the

green-haired man

on wrappers delicately

thrown away

but this doesn’t insult him

a family man

can only be

in so many places

at once

sleeping at power plant jobs

& a home with a family

suits the simple life

not backstage cigarettes.

french fries in ketchup

will always bring joy

a cheap sandwich

guilts you with

the taste

for dessert we have

lard lad donuts

a baker’s dozen found

in a cable box

where frosting remains.

POPCORN SEEDS & CHICKENS

mount baker light rail station

is crowded with

popcorn seeds & chickens.

birds peck for an unpopped meal

among the feet of

the many traveling businessmen

& youth grasping

starbucks cups

be careful

where you step.

pecking beaks

find each kernel

over concrete littered

in ancient gum

from a chickenless time

the sidewalk cracks

are not easy

to be seen

& your feet

can just barely find

the surface

there are bigger things to worry about

than flightless birds

running headless

after death.

you descended on escalators

to the birds

who do not sing

plucked feathers

from socks

tried to take your mind off

salt & butter

one day will melt

into another obscurity.

mount baker light rail station

is crowded with

popcorn seeds & chickens.

birds peck for an unpopped meal

among the feet of

the many traveling businessmen

& youth grasping

starbucks cups

be careful

where you step.

A BOUQUET

on my dining table there is

a bouquet of stone roses

carved elegantly

painted carefully

these roses

will not wilt

winter

is on the horizon

because i cannot give water

to what does not grow in soil

instead i must find

the artificial paralysis

of what could’ve blossomed

frozen

on faded pink petals

gathering dust

metal leaves

wearing out

of green paint

yellow streaks

of eroding memory

forever preserved

where i eat my lonely dinner

& pretend

that you were not there

because your love for me

was too coiled in rose bushes

but i still did not see you

sitting across from me at my table

SCREWDRIVER:

one (1) grapefruit half

two (2) shots of vodka

one (1) can of grapefruit-flavored seltzer water

ice

take that grapefruit half & chuck it halfway into the top of a tall glass. with a simple hand wood citrus squeezer you will strangle the juice & guts weeping from the breakfast fruit. pulp & seeds will line the clear bottom of burnt sand. take the hollowed shell of grapefruit peel & throw it into the compost bin.

a. if you do not have enough grapefruit you can simply take the other half too.

tomorrow morning you will instead cut a blood orange in half & eat with a bladed

spoon. oranges already grow pre-sliced but so do grapefruits. the difference

between the proper ways to eat oranges & grapefruits is societal expectations like

breakfast & dinner.

pour vodka into two of your pokemon shot glasses. your childhood joys come to life in adult drinks. pour squirtle & bulbasaur into the juicy remains.

a. when you make cocktails with frozen berries this truly marinates the fruit in

alcohol. but grapefruit juice is not icy blueberries & strawberries & blackberries &

raspberries. this is because you simply do not currently have any frozen fruit & you

must learn to do what you can with only what you have.

grab that can of grapefruit-flavored seltzer water. even if you did have enough grapefruit it is still cheaper to stretch the price of real fruit. add ice for cold but also extra drink stretches. drink before animated adult netflix sitcoms & sims 4 gameplay but this is simply a serving suggestion.

pulp will rise with ice cubes. a thin layer of grapefruit remains like beer foam from a bartender who actually knew what they were doing. bartender knows too much of your personal business to screw up your life easily & it’s better to stay inside and drink.

A SCHOOL OF FISH

circles in harmony

underneath a blue surface

thin slender

bodies of scales

breathe filtered gills

water

has never been

so clean

swift fins slice

the soft current

i know it should be easy

but you must be patient

you are only just now

learning to swim yet again

& the riptide will arrive soon

deep currents dive from depths

& create whirlpools

just keep swimming