Masks

Posted on December 27, 2023 by John Biscello

You are about to kiss and be kissed. There is the matter of masks. You remove the first one, which is to say the outermost mask. Your lover removes her first one, and then her second. She is ahead of you in the process. Which is to say that when her third mask kisses your second mask, she expects more. At this rate, we’ll never reach true intimacy, she plainly states. You agree. And proceed to remove many more mask-layers. As does she. You kiss again. And both realize that deep genuine intimacy may take a while.

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Notices

Posted on December 27, 2023 by John Biscello

When you die, tell everyone there has been a change of address, and you will send the new coordinates as soon as you have them. When you die, tell everyone you are taking a trip to somewhere you’ve never been, Borneo or Mars or one of Saturn’s moons, and when you return they may not recognize you. When you die, tell everyone you are moving out of state, and stateless may be your new address and position for a while. When you die, tell everyone you have entered the witness protection program, and even if they stumble upon you, your new identity may befuddle them. Or simply don’t die and keep quiet.

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Whispers

Posted on December 26, 2023 by John Biscello


Whisper, I want to be inside you, to your lover, when she is in the middle of a parent-teacher conference. Whisper, between your thighs I found blue lightning, to your lover, when she is driving in congested traffic on the highway. Whisper, your neck is my favorite unoccupied territory, to your lover, when she is doing taxes, or something else numerical and benumbing. Whisper countless unimaginable things to your lover on a daily basis. As an auxiliary component to this ritual, scream everything you whispered to your lover into a glass jar which you label Fruit Salad.

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ghost Story

Posted on December 26, 2023 by John Biscello

Understand clearly that you are a ghost haunting your own life. Do not seek an exorcist, nor a mirror. Do not try and revise or cure your condition. Put on a white sheet, cut two slits for eyeholes, and wander from room to room in your house, taking time in each room. At some point, find a mirror and stare into it, understanding clearly that beneath the sheet is nobody. Ask a friend you trust to come over and play-act the role of an exorcist, and have them fill a water gun with tap water and squirt you numerous times, while reciting made-up verses from Ecclesiastes. Remind yourself that there is no difference between a Methodist and a Jew, a rottweiler and a goldfish, an umbrella and a water fountain. Continue listing not differences and when you are satisfied with your catalog, remove the sheet and look into the mirror. As promised, you are not there. Smile. As if someone who cares is snapping your photo.

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Telegram

Posted on December 24, 2023 by John Biscello

Send a telegram from a future perspective to someone who resembles you in present time. In the telegram, tell the person resembling you who and what you would like to become. Assure them that this is not blackmail or psychic extortion, and that you hold no actual leverage over their present decision(s). Also, remind them that mergers, in real-time, take a long spell to happen immediately.

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Alignment

Posted on December 24, 2023 by John Biscello

Conceive of your body as the size of a planet. Notice that your body is inhabited by many things, each unique and unrepeatable in its design and imprint. Shrink yourself down to the size of an amoeba. Observe the uniquely unrepeatable structures of the giants roaming the world of which you are a part. Conceive of yourself as a human being. What do you see?

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Before Beauty

Posted on December 23, 2023 by John Biscello

Count the number of wrinkles in the night sky. Count the number of wrinkles in the ocean. Tell the sky it is old and beautiful. Tell the ocean it is old and beautiful. Write a note saying—I am old and beautiful—and tape it onto a mirror. Look into the mirror and recite the words aloud—I am old and beautiful. This can be done no matter what age you imagine yourself to be, no matter the length and breadth and volume of your memory.

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Directory

Posted on December 23, 2023 by John Biscello

Pick a name at random from a phone book. Let’s say Shultz. Pick a second name at random from a phone book. Let’s say Espinoza. Call Schultz and pretend to be Espinoza. Call Espinoza and pretend to be Schultz. Then call a third stranger, let’s say Mills, and pretend to be yourself.  

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sleep Study

Posted on December 22, 2023 by John Biscello

Sleep. For days and nights sleep, days and weeks, sleep. Forget your children. Forget your husband. Forget your pets. Forget the state of your furniture. Forget the state you’re living in. Forget the bills that have to be paid. Forget the last time you had an orgasm, real or false. Forget all unspecified anxieties gnawing at your entrails. Forget, and sleep as if you are waiting to be born. Wake up and know that you are already dead. Go on dreaming.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mooning

Posted on December 22, 2023 by John Biscello

Go outside with a hand mirror on a full moon night. Breathe into the mirror. Then hold the mirror up to the moon at such an angle that moonlight is reflected into the palm of your free hand. Go to someone you love, someone with whom you share intimate touch. Undress the person slowly, until there is nothing left but light. Use your moon-soaked hand to touch them all over. Continue doing this, light on light, until one or both of you gasps immeasurably.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment