Two Pieces

Issue 9

https://manyworlds.place/entries/issue-9/jp-thorn/

by jp thorn

Jump to: mysticism for beginnersfortune cookie aphorisms


mysticism for beginners

after harry bird

it’s always good news when you squint,
less lonely is simple as cross-eyed conniptions.
you don’t need a mirror to talk yourself up
or down; sometimes, you only need an
elderly friend, one who says boy howdy!
& maintains climate optimism. companion
of another decade that is moved by your
understanding love languages– candle gift
kept alive for years despite 40-hour-burn-time.
i’ve felt otherworldly digging a hole to shit in
while backpacking across foothills, claimed
phenomena when my perspective was lack.
a lucid dream will always lead you back
to yourself & though to blink is to miss
a moment we must regulate watery machines.
an irish mystic news reporter scrolls rent-free
in my head: don’t make unnecessary journeys,
don’t take risks on treacherous roads & don’t
swim in the sea, incredibly crystalized bodies
were spotted in waters of black rock & salt hill.
swallow your stone & dive into the thick of it
just so tired i can’t even run for cover but there’s
a river, i’m gonna jump in sweetwater, gonna take
weight i’ve been shouldering, step up to the bank
& strip, sink on down, feel the mana all around


Originally published in GARLAND issue 2 (September 2024)

as if to say —————

|
| shame i learned to swim
|
| it’s better to drown quickly
|
| drowning is a good way to go
|
| i’ve been contemplating endings
|
| prospects are absent minds
|
| the past a warped glimmer
|
| light a wick & watch it burn for always
|
| you cannot, eternal flamer
|
| burning is a good way to go
|
| we felt magma licking our feet
|
| parabola bodies circle fire
|
| so lost in talk boot soles melted
|
| fused rubber venn diagram
|
| sand from my shore within you
|
| reverse erosion stacks into piles
|
| reestablishing island chains
|
| interloped twin flame sea castles
|
| remain deserted–
|
| this is just a recollection
|
| i’m woven into
|
| beneath the duvet
|
| you’re still alive
|
| to kiss me awake
|
| eyelids first, curtains
|
| drawn open with lips;
|
| creatures die, habits don’t


jp thorn is a queer, neurodivergent artist raised in & returned to the bible belt. advocate for destigmatization & radically open communication, their work is inspired by humanness, reframing traditionalism, therapeutic processes, unlearning patriarchy, identity, & global patterns. you can find more of their work at thorn.jp