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Evidence:
his slump,
haunted eyes I imagine
cannot un-see torches,
cannot un-hear screams
of “diablo!”
“Akuma!”
“Monster!”

I want him to know
I see it.

That I notice the way
his sternum pinches
and caves,
that, sometimes,
I wonder what weapon
birthed his posture.
A .45?
A switchblade?
Some unfathomable,
archaic battery?

I imagine him healing
beneath a mossy bridge
beside a dead river,
his wings and horns
shed in favor of a ‘normalcy’
he can never truly adopt.

Evidence:
a fumbled smile
with too many teeth,
the way he minces
into pedestrian traffic,
his weight poured forward
as if he was never
truly designed
to stand upright.

I want him to know
I understand.

We are all monsters here.

He does not need
to stand upright
for me.



Lora Gray (they/them), is a non-binary speculative fiction writer and poet from Northeast Ohio who has been published in various anthologies and magazines, including Uncanny Magazine, F&SF, and Asimov’s. Lora is also a graduate of Clarion West and a recipient of the Ohio Arts Council’s Individual Excellence Award in Fiction Writing, and has been nominated for The Pushcart Prize and the Rhysling Award. You can find Lora online at lora-gray.com.
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