Comfortable Madness First PDF 4-13-18

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Time Out Even at sunset, Hagg Lake was green. Green pines and firs bristled from ridges. Algae stained the water. Red and yellow light stood out hard behind the mountains. Tayla and I shared a bottle of wine. “You did the right thing,” she said. “I was so scared,” I said. Tayla smiled. “People are going to talk about this forever,” she said. Tayla needed the world to see her. All I wanted was a corner to hide in. The thought of people talking about this made me more than a little sick. “Can you make it stop?” I asked. Tayla laughed. “This is a good thing,” she said. “You’re a sexy dyke goddess.” I trembled. Not a goddess. A sacrifice maybe, a goat on the altar.
Spells in the Corner The music was enormous, filled with ragged bones. It was dark and dangerous. Cigarettes painted the room gray and blue. Old men and scrawny women sat at the bar guarding their drinks, smoking too much, talking about work and religion. Everything smelled of kitchen grease. Tayla wove spells in the corner. She played with her eyes closed. She was there and not there at the same time. I could almost see her ghost hanging in the rafters watching the whole thing. Her body knew the secrets she was trying to tell. She didn’t need to listen anymore to the music her hands made. People bobbed and nodded at the tables, letting the notes rock them like children waiting for sleep. Tayla cut through them with a blue and silver wind. She got me in by telling the door guy that I was her sound person, which was dumb because there were no mics or speakers. Tayla didn’t need tech to capture folks. I sat at the bar smoking a cigarette, mesmerized. A thin man with a pot belly over narrow hips eased up to me. He looked like a four-legged spider. I wanted nothing to do with him. Spiky black hair covered his head. He smelled of cigarettes and beer and bad meat. “Can I buy you a drink?” he asked. I shook my head. “One drink,” he said. He pushed his face close to me. “That’s my girlfriend,” I said, pointing to Tayla. “Girlfriend?” “Girlfriend.” “Jesus.” He walked away. That was how it always ended. Disgust and judgment.
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Comfortable Madness William L. Alto
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Dedication For Lisa, who showed me
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still the only teacher who let me g
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I reached for his face, but it was
Page 11 and 12: the curb. I smoked and paced, and I
Page 13 and 14: med thing? Was this the start of an
Page 15 and 16: Science and Spirit They made physic
Page 17 and 18: Target I was neither the biggest ki
Page 19 and 20: Crossing the Line In English, we ta
Page 21 and 22: Episode Voices and faces bubbled ou
Page 23 and 24: God Porn Four girls stood in front
Page 25 and 26: Lunch Color drained away except for
Page 27 and 28: Telling Secrets Miss Tris sat with
Page 29 and 30: Water I danced and Tayla played. Ta
Page 31 and 32: “We have to do something,” Miss
Page 33 and 34: Insomnia Sun rise. Jays screamed in
Page 35 and 36: Love and Madness Our bed was old. K
Page 37 and 38: Someday Queertopia was the last tab
Page 39 and 40: There were no words. There were no
Page 41 and 42: Voices and Visions Night. Everythin
Page 43 and 44: Answered Questions Tayla sat in the
Page 45 and 46: A Thing Homecoming. I didn’t want
Page 47 and 48: I backed away. People were really s
Page 49 and 50: Tayla rolled over and looked at me.
Page 51 and 52: Delusions I was too cold. White air
Page 53 and 54: Room A creek ran on the edge of tow
Page 55 and 56: Questions Water dribbled through a
Page 57 and 58: Show Folks came through the door, t
Page 59 and 60: gathered in his fists and face. I s
Page 61: “I love you,” he said. Was this
Page 65 and 66: Silence. We looked at Tad. He shrug
Page 67 and 68: The Mormons stumbled and turned. Th
Page 69 and 70: “I understand,” Tayla said. “
Page 71 and 72: PE I watched the game without watch
Page 73 and 74: He got off the couch and came to me
Page 75 and 76: Tayla grunted in her sleep. I didn
Page 77 and 78: I didn’t know that for sure. Gid
Page 79 and 80: How do you explain what it was like
Page 81 and 82: Air seemed to slice through me. Par
Page 83 and 84: Glass The room was mine. The walls
Page 85 and 86: “I love you,” she said. Sweet w
Page 87 and 88: “Turn away from sin,” he shoute
Page 89 and 90: down and grabbed my arm. He hauled
Page 91 and 92: Secrets Sadness verged on depressio
Page 93 and 94: Real Enough Orion hung in the south
Page 95 and 96: Escape Tayla and Angie took me to t
Page 97 and 98: We crouched behind a hedge. The cop
Page 99 and 100: Shit Follows Voices told me to run.
Page 101 and 102: “You’re dying,” he said. Spot
Page 103 and 104: Emergency Darkness. Thick, vast and
Page 105 and 106: Friends Miss Tris and Tad came with
Page 107 and 108: At the corner, I sat in a hard chai
Page 109 and 110: Awkward Everyone stared at Angie an
Page 111 and 112: The Dead On the edge of sleep, just
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Real and Not Real Visiting hours st
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I stared at the trees on the other
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Home Part of me thought things woul
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He was a wall of bone and muscle. H
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She came back to the bathroom. “I
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Tayla put on Duke Ellington. We hel
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gulped down. That was it. This was
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Worry Broken leg. Broken ribs. Disl
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“She hates me,” I said, soundin
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Soon I knew things. I knew someday
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Open Communication Pain and oxy str
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Tayla gave her the finger. I grinne
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“You’ll make it,” Tad said. I
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Love Oxy made everything okay. Not
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Things Come Out “Sweet Jesus,”
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Fight For days, we fought but we fo
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“Really?” she asked. The word h
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An old man stopped. He looked from
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Faith There he was. Gid. In the win
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The First Shot Queertopia. Tayla, r
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Always and Forever I dreamed of lig
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Temptation Last call. The stage emp
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Empty Promises It started. But then
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Gifts Music lifted into the air, br
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Object of Admiration Mr. Skarey cal
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Black birds came from the corners.
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This Body I dreamed of music, compl
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Miracles I was late. I was never la
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laughing. I had nothing to laugh ab
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“You’re talking religion,” Co
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Tayla’s drawn face tore at me.
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This Is Love First, I saw his hands
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Making Sure Posters of smiling wome
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Something Hard and Sad Rain fell li
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Looking Forward Dance team girls ga
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Closet Water stains made dark masks
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“You okay?” he asked. “Fine,
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“The baby! Jesus, the baby!” So
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“I love you,” Gid said. He went
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“You’re not a guy,” he said.
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Heavy Music and movement. I spun an
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It felt as if my skin were going to
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“They did nothing to you,” Gid
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I smiled a fake smile. Tayla watche
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“Really,” I said. “They can s
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I closed my eyes. “Let’s go,”
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“What’s up?” she asked. “Te
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I smoked and waited. Tayla came and
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Waiting I danced. I danced and hope
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The Talk “What’s his name?” T
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Almost a Victim I sat on the floor
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pushing his fingers into my pie and
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“She thinks I cheated,” I said.
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“You know better.” Suddenly, I
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“You know,” she said. “No one
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“No,” I said. “Yes. And other
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“I know.” Her fingers squeezed
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That put an end to it.
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“What happens,” I asked, “if
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didn’t trust her because they ass
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“Have you thought of adoption?”
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“I have some newborn clothes here
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Safe Dead folks filled the room wit
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Consequences Mr. Skarey’s office
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A Domestic Moment I lay on the bed
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Birth It started with a rush of wat
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When they handed me my son, I cried
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He fought with me, but there was a
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