Poetry By Mykki Rios

Masao Kamosa CC



REFLECTIONS IN MY EYEGLASSES

I am too afraid to look, too afraid to see
There are always things at the edges of my spectacles
Little lights elfin dancers like an inflated bag of glow worms
buffeted by wind
Like no room is ever really empty especially in partial dark
shapes repeating
Stretching strobing trails like a city highway
I am my own cryptid sightings
I’m not afraid that something is there I’m afraid that it’s not
That my mind is finally proving too much for me
If I had to describe my life in a word it would be succumbing
My solution is to layer what Gertrude Stein
would call a glaze of glitters
So when I see holograms I can say it’s just me noticing myself
I am always in my rearview mirror
My birthstone is a pearl so I plaster them all over my face
The trick is to get preoccupied then lose it so you can’t fixate

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Mykki Rios is a queer genderfluid Mexican-American writer, performer and multimedia artist. Raised in Chicago, and having lived many places across the globe, they recently returned home to the Windy City. Mykki has had works featured in issues of HAD, BRUISER Mag, The Bulb Region, and more. They were also a finalist in Lupercalia Press' 2022 Chapbook Series Contest. Their work has been nominated for the Monarch Queer Literary Awards and the Pushcart Prize.