On the theme of Your Very Flesh
Dark Continent
“Bulimic self-improvement,” is a phrase I steal from my friend;
it satisfies everyone, springs like a trap, surprising my
cynical friends into kind agreement and, caught off guard,
we stop talking.
We talk about our bodies.
Calling the inside of my body a “dark continent” is another bit I pull out
less successfully. No one gets what I mean.
My wife rolls her eyes. “What is going on inside of me?” I say,
repeat it, laugh. Past midnight on my birthday, I ask this of everyone at the bar,
My Father’s Place at 12:37, these good friends gathered here
by my wife, one her many gifts to me.
As I age, I have fewer working bits, repeat the rest until they break (also with satisfaction).
It’s one of those dark, red-lit bars, the kind we all agree is best.
It’s winter and I love the winter because nothing moves me
like a light carried stoic into the dark.
Author Biography
Derrick Martin-Campbell is a writer living in Portland, OR. His work has previously appeared in places like HOUSEFIRE, Metazen, New Dead Families, Smalldoggies, and Thought Catalog. You can read more of his work at derrickmartincampbell.tumblr.com.