grow dreams in cars laced with oil roses.crunching over cement.the exhaust coughs up cigarettes, it’s motion.this wind is gliding on inertia.battering glass like hammers.curse the contemporary car window designers.my car churns out a dark refrain groveling for someone to reinstate a rusted rolling handle & reminds us we were once god.bless Ms Chetty that our bellies could swallow happiness.round bouncingclaylikehappiness.that’s splutter from the engine & shaking of the suspension.my car laughs a bellyful, cursing under his hood at the ones who flicked prickled tongues, as if they swallow old porcupines.Ms Chetty is an alien he says.I protest.he projects.I suggest another drive to grind the anger out of his tyres.tired voices scratch at my throat.headlights screeching.the city is a sunset.tongues of light lick up oil.splintered family trees the crows lay to rest. my car speaks of his birth and asks me what the universe was like before he was allowed to join.we talk stars.we talk alcohol. we talk fire.we talk jealousy.we talk death.we talk cars & I weep like leaking oil.left over the bridge.fasterthanthespeedoflight. we are tucked in the architect’s darkness.lips like ripped tickets.finally. a marina of light.
the gas station.
Ryan is an Indian-South African poet and filmmaker hailing from Johannesburg. He recently graduated with a BScHons in Geography and Environmental Sciences and is currently pursuing a Higher Certificate in Performing Arts. You can find links to his short films and his endless retweets on Twitter @RNaamdhew.
Ruthenium (she/they) is an artist and writer currently living in the state of uncertainty. They believe creativity is real-life magic, and are obsessed with texture, context, light, and the question “what if?...” Their work has been published in Sandpiper, Rabble Review, Celestite Poetry, Lavender Lime Literary, Vulnerary Magazine, and Warning Lines Literary. Their various presences, publications, and collections can be found at https://linktr.ee/Ruthenium.