Patrick Samuel: Two of Swords
The Lovers
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā So, the bros upstairs
cheer along to football
while Erik eats my ass.
Two of Swords
Ā So, nobody calls it brunch back home,Ā
always breakfast, and Iām wondering if
itās because of the booze. We have a littleĀ
list on receipt paper and a penĀ
from the waitress. She took longerĀ
than Iād like to greet us (more and moreĀ
I feel like one half of the angry tracksuit
couple from āSeinfeld,ā mad that Kramer
wonāt wear the AIDS ribbon), Iām edgy
and need coffee. Omg on the way
here someone stared at me
and I didnāt like it. Like they were
spitting curses under their clenched
teeth, their breath at me. When
my dad used to disappear on binges
I pictured myself as this ball
of highly explosive material,
like one of the mutants from
my comic books. I used to really
feel music, all the way.
That bitch TiffanyĀ
didnāt even invite me to see FionaĀ
live when she was touring for Tidal.
Her and stupid Lauren
smoked weed in an alcove by
St. Andrews. Itās cool, though,
cuz a couple times Jane took
me out with Cary in her Baretta, herĀ
menthols crisp, how I imagined
a slit throat might take you back at first.
She kept the pack in this compartment
hanging from the ceiling between
the driver and passenger seats
meant for sunglasses. Jane used
to go camping with Caryās family
and drive around drinking
and smoking and getting guys to give
them these thick gold chains that allĀ
the racist pigs at my high schoolĀ
wore and called ghetto. My mom went
to the same high school as me and says
during the Detroit riots they locked
the school down during
its own race riot and some
other of her bullshit.
She said donāt sayĀ excuse me,
sayĀ HEY! PUNK!Ā Mmm, no, not
me. I think most people donātĀ
know what to ādoā with me.Ā
Elusive as a shadow, Ellenās
husband Jon said, who I only smokedĀ
weed with, like, twice. Iām fine. Except
I always feel so pretentiousĀ
feeling fruit to see if itās good.Ā
Am I good? Next month, Iāll get
serious againĀ about loving my body,
as if touching is what Iād meant all along.
Patrick Samuel lives in Chicago where he received his MFA from Columbia College. He currently works in acquisitions at Northwestern University Press. His most recent work appears or is forthcoming in Animal: A Beast of a Literary Magazine, Court Green, and Prelude.














