I Fail at Portraying A Teen Witch in Drag

Spencer Silverthorne

Out on the edge of Glendale I am sucking down froth, wearing ink, and already late for an audition.

I am tired of the blast of blue, the sun makes me wince, and I can’t stop confusing Spicoli for Spinoza

at this troubled curb. Some surreptitious consultant shares a ride with me. I must abide by his

reminder: not only should I quit squeezing citrus but I should also quit aporias if I want people

to look. My eyes smudge from a week of toggling the ultimate crush spirit on an outdated iOs. I nod

at La Brea where I dream about auditions back East. Long story short: disordered and confirmed Peter

Pan fancies do not age like a great aunt’s cabernet. I now part my hair in all zags. I am primed for a

dressing down. I think magma would manifest best in this weather. My good side is waning gibbous.

No one knows how much I gap to grimace. If I only could just concentrate on placing a toad upon

the highest frond. I did it at a Whitman event. This time I’ll remember my nostrils as I’m led to beige.

Spencer Silverthorne is a poet and PhD student in English and Creative Writing at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is also the Associate Poetry Editor at Rougarou: A Journal of Art and Literature. His work has been published or is forthcoming in Always Crashing, Black Warrior Review, Blue Earth Review, Dream Pop Journal, Hobart, and Sundog Lit, among others. Currently he is working on a full-length collection of poetry.

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