in defense of staying single by Liam Strong

do not call it loneliness

Han Solo never spouted soliloquies

i’ve got my chapstick & headband 4 me

a period suggests it got a partner followin after its tail

although the independent clause can stand on its own

(so yeah we been dating for a month

but yeah i’m single what hiking trail

do u wanna go to)

been thinkin bout breakin codes & which way is north ^^^^

been thinkin bout str8 lines _________ how we draw logical

conclusions

been thinkin bout what i want for the anniversary of my birth this year

(conclusion: treat yo SELF)

once i ordered a dark n stormy neat at Ram’s bar &

received an eyebrow like i was a gentile or philistine or heathen or whatevs

my storms have been mild & selfish these days

like it’s an era i’m constructing the history for

like w/o a tether i’m just a cue ball wildin to get scratched

like my apartment door can fit 2 ppl in side by side

like my tits were meant 4 hands

other than my own

---

LiamStrong (they/them) is a queer poet, essayist, and music critic. They serve as Chapbook Coordinator for Michigan Writers Cooperative Press. You can find their poetry and essays in Impossible Archetype, Lunch Ticket, Rathalla Review, Ghost Proposal, and Glass Mountain, among several others. They live in Traverse City, Michigan and tweets @LiamStrong20.