STERLING-ELIZABETH ARCADIA
— SELECTED PUSSYCURSES
pussycurse no. 5
its not just me other people feel
different when they touch her
too many of the examples i have
are the same someone i love
touched her then suddenly wanted
to tell me how they wanted to die
she hasnt killed anyone yet but
im pretty sure thats what a curse is
pussycurse no. 1
like other cursed objects strange
happenings tend to follow her
last night i locked my door
to watch blue is the warmest color
and ended up letting her suck on my
fingers since she was so loud and
greedy after i heard my roommate
in the kitchen after i came just
the one time i noticed my door
hanging ajar and studied the
gash of light coming through i
unwrapped butterscotches
between my legs and tucked
her in to sleep so careful
to avoid any jump scares
things tasted like golden
toffee sweet and sticky
pussycurse no. 3
she doesnt even have to be touched
thats how cursed she is once
one of my roommates
accidentally saw her
and she made them want
to kill me they tried but i was
too slippery for their
fingers i never said
she only cursed other people
pussycurse no. 9
worshiping her is a lot like worshiping
jesus not that he was cursed just
her believers know textually that she
came once before and they will die
waiting to see it themselves so i guess
she is actually going to
kill someone eventually
THE BIRDS OUTSIDE MY BEDROOM WINDOW SING AFTER U AND I END THINGS AND BEFORE 4AM
sterling-elizabeth arcadia (she/they) is a trans poet and diy tattooer in washington dc, where she watches birds and cares for her cats. she is currently working on a chapbook of queer ekphrastic love poems based on her friends’ instagram posts. her work has been published in Stone of Madness Press and is forthcoming in Fuck Your Dreams Zine, The Oakland Review, and elsewhere.