O goofy beaver Bat-signal swept across my windshield
O pink and purple suds and gay ass disco lights
O Saturday morning ritual, Shannon’s “Let the Music Play”
on repeat and gas station coffee and nobody can see me
shimmy my shoulders on the memory of a dancefloor
where I’m kissing a redhead with scruff on his chin
I’m not wearing my glasses, there’s fog and soap bubbles
we’re shirtless and sweating, strobe lights scanning
bodies and tiles, he looks like someone I slept with, but
says, “Hey, what’s your name” and “Can I call you?”
O squinting blind Twink, slutting it up, no give a damn
O Superman curl in auburn on sepia man and his mouth
O famous sweet nuggets, crumbs on my lips, in my lap.

J.D. Isip is the winner of the 2026 Louise Bogan Award for his collection, What Wonder (Trio House Press, 2027), and he is the editor of the upcoming anthology, The American Pop Culture Almanac: Daily Readings of Poetry & Prose (Moon Tide Press, 2027). His full-length collections include Reluctant Prophets (Moon Tide Press, 2025), Kissing the Wound (Moon Tide Press, 2023), and Pocketing Feathers (Sadie Girl Press, 2015). A native of Southern California, J.D. now teaches in South Texas, where he lives with his dogs, Ivy and Bucky.