in parentheses

Mercury-Marvin Sunderland (he/him) is a transgender autistic gay man from Seattle with Borderline Personality Disorder. He currently attends the Evergreen State College and works for Headline Poetry & Press. He’s been published by University of Amsterdam’s Writer’s Block, UC Riverside’s Santa Ana River Review, UC Santa Barbara’s Spectrum Literary Journal, and The New School’s The Inquisitive Eater. His lifelong dream is to become the most banned author in human history. He’s @Romangodmercury on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Photography by Co-founder Michael R. Pitter.

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Chicken Little, the Little Bird

as it happened, the sky
got tired of heights
and fell

chicken little, the little bird sings
for a new beginning

an acorn was found in his feather
seeding a the first tree of
a new forest

when a chicken is decapitated
they run
and run
headless

in the blood of
a century of birds
lands into the roots of
a large forest of acorn trees

feathery down
and acorn leaves.

Here, the Little Deer Run

nicked it — that deer in the early
headlights didn’t
see it coming so

here, the little deer run
gracefully away from death

the eyes
parallel as
an astral projection
of impending doom

here, the little deer still
standing terror

only seeing the pits of
flashing lights
before the tunnel

bones crunch
and blood runs

little deer splatters
red hoofprints
from
another way

standing still
the little deer sees
the depths of terror

astral projecting
the one who runs

splattered body
creating schrodinger’s rage

nicked it — that deer in the early
headlights didn’t
see it coming so

here, the little deer run
gracefully away from death.

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