Author Information
"Strike"
by Jeph Johnson
everyone around her
is feeling alone
but she takes me in
with her diamond eyes
then spits me out
on the telephone
after weeks of flirtation
and nearly giving in
to the serpentine temptation
crawling through her skin
I reach a point of real decision
and try to make a deal:
dying in her fantasy
or alive to something real
that is not even close
to the composite ideal
I've set up for myself
before I could feel
all of the pleasures
she has yet to reveal
