I LIVED ON A DEMON-SIZED PLANET

It was designed for the smaller but more virulent demons. We found it easy to speed around on little demon scooters, and everyone knew each other’s diminutive demon names.

I had a job staging plays with demons and angels. In one play, an elongated demon crushed an angel-sized city with her spike heels. Angry angels ran screaming from tiny buildings.

Best of all were the demon-sized lovers, slim enough to fit inside my demon-sized heart. And yet our emotions were quite large.

Recently, at night, these lovers have returned to me, visiting my regular-sized planet. We re-enact dramas just for each other. Deep in the final scenes, time transmutes into music. One note at a time – out of time – yet smudged together, as lovers smudge with me into one.

Though our planet was small, our emotions never stopped expanding. For a few, unfortunately, the planet became too tiny. They were smudged away.

Love was the biggest emotion. We created the plays to hold our growing feelings. So we could stare at them, and try to understand them.

What else were we going to do? Our hearts were too small to hold all that love.

by Jack Skelley

Jack’s Skelley’s new chapbook, Dennis Wilson and Charlie Manson (Fred & Barney Press) is in its second printing and has been widely reviewed. Other books include Monsters (Little Caesar Press) and the novel Fear of Kathy Acker, to be published next year. Jack is also guitarist and songwriter for psychedelic surf band Lawndale (SST Records). Twitter @JackSkelley , Instagram @HelterSkelley

Accompanying photograph courtesy of Stephen Spera