there's a Heart of Virginia Festival magnet bleeding out onto the countertop. it's been like this for weeks, i think. i've been sitting here for weeks. letting the phone ring and not picking up. a couple of old strawberries molding in my palm. two ibuprofen waiting to be swallowed resting pretty on my tongue, melted down to sulfur and acid. i'm not the right kind of sick for you. bees buzzing inside my skull, lazy and sticky sweet. blood dripping from your face to the tiles. gutted and fresh and stinking, and you won't stop carving dead languages into the meat of your thighs, muscle gaping red and raw you sit in the bathroom of a Macy's and howl, like youre wild, like you're hoping someone will round the corner, fists flashing and ******* stop you. youre not a Real Boy, you say, spit it out quick and harsh. thats what momma said- you'renotarealboy. faster than before. like you're scared. (i know you are.) my shoulders go up once, twice. what the **** is a real boy?