There’s a firefly warmth to your wry eyes
that I want to capture in mason jars,
to make string lights out of them,
out of memories better left behind.
3am is the bewitching hour. My circadian
rhythm scours two continents to bow
to a heartbeat I can’t hear
across an ocean I can’t cross.
I buy a dream [or two] of you
and in my mind, the curves of your
phosphate lips glow and whisper
“I love you.”
I give myself to the lost art of longing.
The screen casts my face into the limelight.
Pixels shine into tired eyes, a sign
to stay up until we forget about time.
Your coy smile twists a knife
into my throat. Right below phantom,
phosphorous lipstick marks
that have worked to erode away
my jaw, my voice box. This is a song
for the end of the world [for the night]
but death and I have been intimately
acquainted for some time now.
Do you like the taste of war?
[To keep my mouth shut tight]
I gnaw at my own bones
and hope they don’t break.
Sunlight will strip my skeleton white.
Bite my ribs, you will discover fireflies
caged in my chest. Each carry your name
and, out of my mouth, they take flight.
This post is brought to you by
Millennial Dogeater
by Marinna Benzon
Millennial Dogeater is a collection of poems that voices honest and subversive narratives of a Queer First Generation woman carefully navigating her position in America. From re-learning self-empowerment, unlearning cultural assimilation to loving the varied facets of the queer identity; Millennial Dogeater is a curated snapshot of invisible Brown Girls.
About The Author
Jordan Aramitz is an author and poet studying at the University of East Anglia. Her work explores the themes of unorthodox relationships, mental health, and magical realism through the lens of the British-Asian identity. Currently, she is working on a short story collection influenced by Japanese history and folklore (given the working title: Diva Dolorosa).
Bandit Fiction is an entirely not-for-profit organisation ran by passionate volunteers. We do our best to keep costs low, but we rely on the support of our readers and followers to be able to do what we do. The best way to support us is by purchasing one of our back issues. All issues are ‘pay what you want’, and all money goes directly towards paying operational costs.
bandit. 
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