"keep cool" by Fabio Sassi
Forrest Rapier | Floridamyth of My Friends Who Turned into Animals
We fed burnt biscuits to the squirrels,
fought ravens from the phone wires.
We flew our blonde banners. Amber
longnecks lay spent in the scorched
yard of roaches. We ate chicken
drumettes on the porch. Mike bunny-
hopped his moped over plastic lawn chairs
like a stuntman. We set up a relay race
and he screwed over Tate’s foot. Shane
ramped the Blackburn ditch in a Barbie Jeep
the night we beat the Tigers. The fridge
never stopped being a fridge. It was
a tattooed Whirlpool spattered with hash
grease and Sharpie. Mitch got ankle-
deep in an anthill and his whole leg
got scars. We rolled kegs
back from Seminole Discount
Liquor on skateboards.
We buzzed Kevin’s head. We went
to the hospital. We buzzed our heads
for Kevin. The moped broke down. The chicken
place ran out of chicken. One day it rained
all day and nobody lifted a finger. The fridge
never stopped being cool; it kept getting tattoos.
We went to the hospital. We beat the Tigers.
Kev didn’t want us to bring him anything.
We rolled a keg back from Seminole. The fridge
kept going and never died; Kev wanted to be
a fridge. Keep going, buddy. The store
ran out of biscuits and the squirrels went away.
Mitch fell asleep on the sofa, so we picked up
the sofa and brought him outside. We poured gas
on him and the sofa and threw a cigarette on him.
He puked fire like a dragon. This is a lie, you’re
lying. K didn’t want us to bring him anything,
I checked. One day it rained and then it stopped.
We knew what it meant. That night
the sunset burned like fifty spears on fire.
Nobody slept. Tate turned into a raven
at dawn. Mitch and Mike shrunk like ants.
They crawled and crawled and crawled
in circles. I heard a horse coming up.
You’re lying. He swung his hair.
He came back from the Gulf
as a painted Appaloosa.
fought ravens from the phone wires.
We flew our blonde banners. Amber
longnecks lay spent in the scorched
yard of roaches. We ate chicken
drumettes on the porch. Mike bunny-
hopped his moped over plastic lawn chairs
like a stuntman. We set up a relay race
and he screwed over Tate’s foot. Shane
ramped the Blackburn ditch in a Barbie Jeep
the night we beat the Tigers. The fridge
never stopped being a fridge. It was
a tattooed Whirlpool spattered with hash
grease and Sharpie. Mitch got ankle-
deep in an anthill and his whole leg
got scars. We rolled kegs
back from Seminole Discount
Liquor on skateboards.
We buzzed Kevin’s head. We went
to the hospital. We buzzed our heads
for Kevin. The moped broke down. The chicken
place ran out of chicken. One day it rained
all day and nobody lifted a finger. The fridge
never stopped being cool; it kept getting tattoos.
We went to the hospital. We beat the Tigers.
Kev didn’t want us to bring him anything.
We rolled a keg back from Seminole. The fridge
kept going and never died; Kev wanted to be
a fridge. Keep going, buddy. The store
ran out of biscuits and the squirrels went away.
Mitch fell asleep on the sofa, so we picked up
the sofa and brought him outside. We poured gas
on him and the sofa and threw a cigarette on him.
He puked fire like a dragon. This is a lie, you’re
lying. K didn’t want us to bring him anything,
I checked. One day it rained and then it stopped.
We knew what it meant. That night
the sunset burned like fifty spears on fire.
Nobody slept. Tate turned into a raven
at dawn. Mitch and Mike shrunk like ants.
They crawled and crawled and crawled
in circles. I heard a horse coming up.
You’re lying. He swung his hair.
He came back from the Gulf
as a painted Appaloosa.
Forrest Rapier has published poems in dozens of literary journals across the country, including Asheville Poetry Review, Best New Poets, and Greensboro Review. His debut collection, As the Den Burns, was published by Texas Review Press in 2022. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at Florida State University. He lives in Tallahassee.
Fabio Sassi is a photographer and acrylic artist. He enjoys imperfections, and reframing the ordinary in his artwork. Fabio lives in Bologna, Italy and his work can be viewed at https://fabiosassi.foliohd.com
