alien faces By Josh Sippie

we pull masks off monsters and find humans

but when the alien’s head stays put we bristle

and wonder if we’re in over our heads

we’re just kids

we’re not supposed to be

confirming extraterrestrials

or

gratifying the cosmos with our

curiosity,

I mean

even the brave ones never expected to find anything

and the cowards were never brave enough to believe

it possible

but now, as we’re taken captive on a ship resembling a metallic

milk bottle

we’re the ones who are tied up and they’re trying to pull off

our faces

perhaps they think it some kind of

greeting

or at least that’s what my optimistic side says as they

keep tugging at our hair and rubbing their chins

pondering our existence,

or perhaps thinking that

they’re in over their heads too, and that

they’re just kids that aren’t supposed to be

confirming the existence of

extraterrestrials

like us

---

Josh Sippie is the Director of Publishing Guidance at Gotham Writers, Editor at The Razor, and an Associate Editor of Uncharted Mag. His work has appeared in McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Hobart, Stone of Madness, Bear Creek Gazette, Truffle, and more. When not writing, he can be found wondering why he isn't writing. More at joshsippie.com or Twitter @sippenator101.