by Nick Roberts
(CONTENT WARNING: SEXUAL ASSAULT)
the smell stays on you for hours no matter how
hard you scrub
no matter how deep you press into your pores his
lips still linger long after he’s gone
you can try scalding water because maybe burning him away might work so you’ll
stand in the shower for an hour thinking about the way his skin felt on yours you
hated it it was all wrong but you went with it anyway
he guided your hand down his chest & his thighs but the
only thing you were thinking about is how you’re going to
clean this all up
it doesn’t feel right so slip into autopilot machine style sex is what he’s going to get
your arms can dislocate at the joints if you press at the
top freckles on both sides so
give them to him
& watch him play
step back from him & watch yourself while
peeling back the skin round your waist
pull off the dermis to expose the circuits & the fans & the belts & the lights
it’s coming off like string cheese now all that is left is the shell
in the back of your knees rests a white glowing circle so
press it & watch your shins slowly unhinge the
oil running down dripping onto the
damp concrete floor
give them to him
eyes will start to shake slightly focus will start to blur
tap once for color twice for uv & three to go to sleep
give them to him
face & chest are last parts awake & hardest to shut off
grab below ear & pinch & pull the pink from smooth clear shell
it’ll sort of stick so pull with a reason
the suction cups popping like popcorn he let you have one time
once you get to the chin start to peel upwards towards the nose
breathe in through your mouth as it’ll sting the
sensors telling you
“this is pain”
the whirring in your ears is going to get louder the crunching in your chest is
going to get harder so peel it back as fast as you can
feel it stretch over your nose & snap under your eyes but
you can’t cry anyways so why even try it’s time to
unzip your sternum & pry it all open exposing
the true & honest hardware
the oil is so thick now it’ll coat your hands &
fill coffeepot after coffeepot but
you’ve just gotta keep going
once you find your center unhook it from your ribcage &
place it face down in your anemic & slimy wet hands
give it to him
give it to him & lay back down
your job on earth is done