DEMON INTROVERT by Ben Nardolli

Art by Max Neumann

DEMON INTROVERT

Eating pages from the diary of a seducer

in order to improve my chances once I go out,

who knows who I’ll find and lie to in the bars,

or what kinds of lies I’ll find myself telling

Maybe it’s already telling that I don’t know,

is it indecision, a lack of creativity?

It could be openness to others though,

I should’ve thought of that before I felt guilty

Nothing’s wrong with improvisation.

No role? No problem, other people will offer

suggestions and I’ll take them at first,

then build a character off what they provide

No panicking, I got the method down,

with pages and ink sloshing around inside me,

after the wonderful fables dissolve into fibers,

I only have to mind one hobgoblin, consistency.

Ben Nardolilli currently lives in New York City. His work has appeared in Perigee Magazine, Red Fez, Danse Macabre, The 22 Magazine, Quail Bell Magazine, Elimae, fwriction, Inwood Indiana, Pear Noir, The Minetta Review, and Yes Poetry. He blogs at mirrorsponge.blogspot.com and is looking to publish a novel.

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