this is for the days
we smoked juul beneath orion’s belt
and the times we gambled in december—
drove amir’s camry downtown
to pick up checks that we cashed
for infinite clout
this is for the zoo lights and rum
for growing out your hair
and eating wendy’s on lake city way
which is our throne proper
every day this year
we tuned the guitars
and beat the sunset
with our fists
swinging effortlessly
at the ATMs and
iHop, where we ate
the greatest meal
of our lives
and the greatest war
of our lives was just
rehab and a first date
it was easy but so huge
it was an arcade and a
studio session and a coke bag
and a handoff and a jam
and a whole foods and a
playlist and a thrift shop
we turned into madison avenue
this pilgrimage is so close to perfect
and my god how the cop lights shine
my god how the days burn
like an oil rig or menthol
the doors open and the tide swings
and everything
wakes up
Corbin Louis is a poet and performer from Seattle. He is an MFA graduate of the University of Washington Bothell. Corbin’s work has been featured in BAX, Atticus Review, and The Visible Verse Film Festival and more. His art is rooted in a radical honesty intended to question repressive norms, such as the stigmas of mental illness and criminalization of drugs. Corbin’s text/image is a pickaxe meant to cut reality open at the nerve and exam the findings. This way understanding becomes empathy. As long as people can feel something, there’s a chance we might live to see a few decent hours.
Art: let your freak flag fly, acrylic paint on 14×11 inch canvas, 2018
Artist Statement: I love all the life packed into this poem — the authenticity of being who you really are, which this painting strives to emulate.