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I see the smooth dip in surface
where pectorals meet a ribcage
and I envision into existence two scars
perhaps still fresh with stitch marks.
his stone sling slung over one shoulder,
a colossal right hand curled around a mystery,
David is the essence of an enviable masculinity:
delicate gesture and curve,
polish and poise in contrapposto.
a sculptor pitched bits of rock
by mallet and chisel
to free a man and myth from marble
so that he might stand self-assured as stone.
there is something queer about this intention—
something intentional about this queer—
and while I have never been to Italy,
in a daydream I break free
from a mob of gawking tourist types,
rush past gallery guards
and duck under velvet ropes
to David’s feet.
armed with a bottle of polish
I paint his toenails.
but he does not glance down at me—
a mere mortal of pinkish flesh,
my own sutures long dissolved—
he stands still and cool,
eyes forever cast
toward Rome.



Devin S. Turk is a poet and nonfiction writer creating from personal experience about Autism, transness, and Madness in the Mid-Atlantic United States, often with a cat in their lap. Devin has work published in Short Édition’s quarterly review, Short Circuit, and Disability Rights Washington’s blog, Rooted In Rights. They are on Twitter @DevinSTurk.
Current Issue
10 Feb 2025

The editors for the AfroSurrealism Special invite you to submit fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.
he curls his bicep into ever more and more and more bicep
Hush. He sees through / the static. Softly. It sees him back.
“Please also be reminded of the following prohibited items,” the clerk explains kindly. “No chemicals or toxic substances. No fluids over 1,000 milliliters. No lithium batteries, laptop chargers and power banks, no love, no light, no family, no safety.”
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Podcast read by: Claire McNerney
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