Phillip J. Ammonds

Kiss it

by Phillip J. Ammonds

Circuitous undulations

Draw beautiful, languid script,

At the timid and dark epicenter

of your being

for which attentive discovery

Searches for a breach

in control, through the mask,

of taut layers—slightly ripened,

exposing heady scents

of musk and release.

One could drown in the

Swell of your existence,

enraptured by the pool

of desire that bubbles

Underneath,

Where the earthy flavor

Permeates the senses—

Leaves behind smears

of light.

The pulpous canvas

Comes alive with

each steady stroke,

of vivid red-orange

Convulsions.

In the beginning or Diva in the making

by Phillip J. Ammonds

Fairytales and towel-wrapped head

Ticked away the seconds when

The microcosm of a little boy's world

Spanned across a window seal

Its reach into locked doors—

Uncanny

Drawing portals from Crayola

azules with rich undercurrents of

Rojos y verdes

Worlds made of heros;

Premies grow into behemoths;

Mothers come home

Universes built from

Popsicle sticks

and fingernail polish

Spin in a circle.

Become the woman of

Your dreams with

bounty so big,

It births new beginnings.

Twirl baby! Twirl!

Bring them to gold.

Send rivers to carve

Paths through mountains

Where little boys become . . .

Leftover Women (of China)

by Phillip J. Ammonds

Once pussy is
Curated perfectly,
Packaged to stand
Auction block tall—
Shiny, untouched,
Educated—
Something of which to
Be proud,
families anticipate the honor,
of bartered flesh,
Hoping the curse of
blood will be answered in marriage.

Her concert-ready instrument
plays new symphonies
On demand
While she stirs in her Michelin-starred kitchen

Not a stain or drip seen

On the pastels that

Complement the rose of her skin.

In the absence of folding

military sharp edges,

she bends physics

Equations to pulp.

Your youth belongs to us,

Womanhood? To him

24 is already too late

This needs to happen

Before the cherry blossoms open

Don’t be too picky

Don’t be too smart

Keep pure

Sit up straight

Don’t be a disappointment

Always agree

Don’t be willful—stubborn

He won’t like that

Don’t be a disappointment

Find success before we die

Don’t hurt your parents

Let him be the one

Don’t.

Be.

leftover.

Phillip J. Ammonds, a Brooklyn native, is a founding member of the writing collective Writeous, with whom he has co-produced three chapbooks. Phillip curates Rainbows Across the Diaspora, the queer text reading series at Dixon Place in New York City. His work appears in the anthology Black Gay Genius: Answering Joseph Beam’s Call (Vintage Entity Press, 2013), edited by Steven G. Fullwood and Charles Stephens