You say you caress crystal carnage once every thirty touch-base days. Do you think time will save you? Saving face or imbibing adages of “he who inhales sparsely is spared?”
Our shells are soft. Bronzed treacle-inflected skin is a fatuous shield.
When I walked into your encapsulated den of Dionysus (was this fantasy or delusion?), the all-encompassing scintilla scent of another heir cut the entropic air around you.
Indescribable husked musk. It’s here.
And you, stonewalling me with decorum, a version of you was also here. Not the rosy-hued cheeks from count-to-three happy selfies, not that variant. No no no no no, the lens lied.
Half-moon circles pooled beneath handsome hazel eyes; your photos spoke half-truths. It was good enough.
Sufficing for this thixotropic night.
There it is, a shallow exhale from cloven lips. You’ve been ready since I twisted the latch. Perhaps even before. Am I your first, or last? How many men accomplished in climactic undulation for duration’s sake?
I don’t kiss you. I don’t need to. I don’t want to.
Everything (un)spoken is best unsaid below the waist, and you’re adept. Knowing is key, yet kinesis isn’t so natural when I know the front-of-mind tergal trigger tarns in your blood.
Protection. It’s what we all crave.
Unless unprotected hypnotic highs and tachyphylaxis thrills cut through you + more sex = more frozen feel-good intimacy ice. Meth brought you to this jeremiad headspace, some halcyon until reality bites or someone cracks a sobering whip.
I’m not here for that. We both know it.
© Edward Swafford 2025
Thank you for reading and/or listening.
This piece focuses on the methamphetamine/drug epidemic among men in the LGBTQ+ community.
I’ve been penning stories for an as-yet unreleased book of 100 stories (complete with audio and written interviews with those who have fallen into the trap of meth addiction) since February.
Undetectable is a true story.
My insight into this insidious drug stems from my fieldwork research, nursing background, and those I’ve loved and lost…
Loved every line. Especially - the lens lied. That one started the waterworks.
Artfully captured.
"Protection is what we're here for"
Opionated protection Edward
Impactful and hopeful ones I guess. This was gorgeous my friend