All My Childhood Crushes Liked to Fish

by Keegan Lawler

Sunfish eyes pop out so easily, hooks ripping
the wrong flesh.

I feign laughter when you make bait of their eyes
to bring the others back.

They say a body in motion tends to stay,
and a body frozen, fearful tends
to never reach you.

Call yourself kinetic, call me
potential, untouched.

Whip the line back, arching
your spine in hopes of a better cast,
and I will break fast for flesh.

---

Keegan Lawler is a writer currently living in Washington State with his partner, their two basset hounds, and their cat. His writing has appeared or is forthcoming from the Los Angeles Review, Homology Lit, The Offing, and the Home is Where You Queer Your Heart anthology from Foglifter Press.