by Katie Larson

The moon is evil thing tonight.

The moon is an evil thing and gone is the house

that raised you.

Gone is every stitch. Every crawling, confining

mass of it.

I try not to miss it.

I miss it anyway.

Transitions are hateful; all bloody knuckles and

shards of glass. This way or that?

This way or that?

But cue the moaning of Converse dragging on

sidewalk concrete,

weaving through the labyrinthine streets and

alleyways

as crepuscule creeps in

on quiet feet—neon shop signs ablaze with

street lamps like spotlights. Rows of apartment

buildings,

convenience stores, tattoo shops, restaurants.

Our tin-god Americana had once looked better

than this

in the buzzing heat of a cheap, pink neon sign:

all flickering, all gangrenous.

I was made awake by fire, not light.

But how could they know?

How could they know we were once rising apes

bred in the carcasses of fallen angels—these wild-eyed,

roadside strays. Rummaging coyotes;

sly, suburban beasts you have to learn to live with.

Mama, I cannot tell them where it hurts

because I cannot stop howling, floundering.

Mama, we all want to go back to the beginning,

but guess what? The blood in your mouth

is in your mouth

is in your mouth

is yours.

Mama, this is a no dice “whodunit”—because shit

if I know! How could they know?

I know they think us all

vacuous harbingers of

rootless disaster,

all buds and no bloom. They think us

all doughnut glaze; all dredged up, shiny,

synthetics. But at least I can still imagine

the water-licked river rocks and

a yellow sky with doughy, white clouds;

the dewy leaves of grass in dawn’s mist.

I am searching for something I can’t reach.

And yet, if I stop looking,

I’m afraid I might find that

the search is the only thing

that keeps me going.

Everything else

a distraction from that fact.

Now hum along, kid. This is how the song goes—

“Beauty Above Deadly Mist” by Soular Knight

My social media accounts finally have a header/banner, and it’s all thanks to Nanami! 💕

Please be sure to check out her Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and Etsy accounts below! She is so incredibly talented + kind! ✨

Instagram: art.bynanami

X: ArtByNanami_

1. Homebody

2. Solis + Luna

3. Meaner

4. Our Picnics in the Graveyard

5. Letter to God (2025)

6. The Devil’s Greatest Trick

7. Dandelion Wine

8. I Forgive You

9. Saint No One

10. “Swear Not By The Moon”

11. Tattoo Theory

12. Yellow

Tenderfoot

For Jasmine Ledesma (@candiedspit)

You are a spectacular. Upon the stage that curtains haven’t yet opened, the next great American is on any face: An intimidating little punk. A lucky wreck. An overtired baby. A tender-footed pedal-pusher. A rat eating its own tail. Even my bitter as nightshade mind. Yes, even a haunted house in bright California still schemes! And no friends but the ugly tilting off the edge could be swimming emancipated, anyway—a slash of defiant sick, trapped in fucking trips, the sun a fucking bathtub drain. But, angel, you’re not allowed to die…Hasten. Have license. Lose. A significant amount find it nearly impossible; find writing as difficult as praying. I wrote some scrapped confessional: “Praying is good begging, and I’m too proud. But you should accept help from anyone.” It’s something at least. Remember: When you’re famous—in due time—all the trouble it took to write this shitty didn’t love you like myself.

“Champagne and Chocolate” by Katie Larson

Happy Valentine’s Day! Remember to be the love you wish to see in the world today—and be sure to check out FLARE Magazine’s first EVER special issue—“Love to the Mind and Body”—HERE! 💘

Buy me a coffee!