by Tim Frank
Fighting on TikTok
Mucus on the concrete,
blood on leather boots,
split lips, septic bruises,
shrouded by the rain.
Heave the fucking load
on TikTok’s ocean floor,
it’s the grandeur of the damned.
The emo kid with painted nails
and scars long-forgotten
loves a poolside brawl.
Even grandma needs a fix
of headbutts by the sea
and knuckleduster nights—
it’s the measure of our times.
And when we hear
the grind of broken bones
from across the darkest seas
it’s just a sun-splashed battle
settling in the void,
a screaming scroll away.
Club Culture
So hurl me at the wall
and crawl inside my slipstream.
Everybody’s lying,
oozing on the dance floor,
jabbing at the dust.
The drugs are all in line,
clawing at my throat—
I can’t stop these viral sirens.
The lights are just
horrific,
my eyes are soft balloons
jolting with alarm.
Open all the windows
let the tribal sounds escape,
the city’s one more maze
with a psychopathic glare.
Now, let’s seep into the streets
under hypnagogic skies
and find a lonely girl,
convulsing with the stars.
Tim Frank’s work has been published in Okay Donkey, X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine, Maudlin House, Hobart, The Forge Literary Magazine, New World Writing and elsewhere. He has been nominated for Best Small Fictions and 4x Best of the Net.