you turn on the radio

by John Swofford

you turn on the radio

hoping, i gather, to make me angry,

Image credit: José Ignacio Pompé on Unsplash

everybody knows how i feel

about rock and roll—it just makes

you want to drink and smoke

what, once drunk, would you do?

i think you’d end the night

in my arms—not long

after you let yourself out

and you let me in

i know you’ll be something else

in the morning;

the light of day doesn’t match

the idea you have of yourself,

a master of words,

falling out of the closet

so as to better save yourself

from the onset of your disease

a schism, i suppose, between

the love that you need

and the auxiliary desire

that you would appease

***

John Swofford

John Swofford’s schizophrenia makes him, according to him, neurodivergent, and he identifies as queer—where queer would mean that his sexuality doesn’t fit any category. This identity influences his writing. His poetry has been accepted by Blue Crystal Literary Magazine and Blue Villa Magazine, among others. He can be found on X/Twitter @johnmswofford, on Facebook and Instagram @johnmerrillswofford, and on his website: johnmerrillswofford.com