"No Goat" by J. Ray Paradiso
"In a minivan" by Tyler Friend
in a church parking lot
with Mary
you and I
in the backseat
and C.J. and Jad driving Jeeps
that look like wine glasses. There’s
an Olive Garden across the street
and you want to go
and so do I.
Mary goes in to get a table,
comes back with a buzzer and a lit cigarette.
You say something about the way
you taste, so I kiss you, only you’re
already kissing me. You take
two pictures of us and put them
on Instagram. One of them is very off-
center, and your eyes are closed, but
I don’t tell you. I want
to take a picture of you reflected
in the back window, but I don’t. Mary’s making
fun of our reliance on technology, tenderness.
with Mary
you and I
in the backseat
and C.J. and Jad driving Jeeps
that look like wine glasses. There’s
an Olive Garden across the street
and you want to go
and so do I.
Mary goes in to get a table,
comes back with a buzzer and a lit cigarette.
You say something about the way
you taste, so I kiss you, only you’re
already kissing me. You take
two pictures of us and put them
on Instagram. One of them is very off-
center, and your eyes are closed, but
I don’t tell you. I want
to take a picture of you reflected
in the back window, but I don’t. Mary’s making
fun of our reliance on technology, tenderness.
Tyler Friend is (a) an apricot/human hybrid; (b) from Tennessee; (c) the author of Ampersonate; (d) avoiding choosing a preferred pronoun.
J. Ray Paradiso is a recovering academic in the process of refreshing himself as an experimental writer and a street photographer.
