Timothy Stobierski

Portrait of the Poet Ejaculating Through Space

Don't ask him how he got here, he simply is—

tumbling, naked, head over ass over head

at the edge of existence. Behind him,

a horizon as white and thin

as a single strand of his mother's hair,

stretched tight and knotting together

every planet and galaxy and atom and star

in one hot, continuous line; in front, 

the jammy black void of lasting night.

Nauseous and annoyed by his own 

somersaults, he steadies himself 

as best he can facing the expanse 

and takes stock of his body. 

Ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes, one nose. 

Just as much fat, and right where he left it. 

He uses his thumb to palpate soft tissue:

his armpits, his belly, his groin, anything 

that might be out of place. When he begins 

to masturbate, it’s first out of boredom—

all this nothing, but at least a cock—

then, out of duty. There's an urgency

in his friction: the quick twist of his wrist 

at the top of each stroke; the shallow 

breaths giving way to a lasting hold; 

the building heat as he approaches 

another edge—a god! a curse! a verb!—

and the evidence, spurt out

and spilling away. In that moment

he can’t help but marvel at his creation,

no longer within arm’s reach—the way

each milky droplet seems to accelerate 

and produce its own light.

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Drigo Diniz from Pexels

Tim Stobierski writes about relationships, presented through the lens of his own experiences as a queer man. Recent poems are published or forthcoming in Poetry Ireland, Chestnut Review, Gay & Lesbian Review, Baltimore Review, Chicago Quarterly Review, Midwest Quarterly, Crab Creek Review, &change, and elsewhere. His first book of poems, Dancehall, was published by Antrim House Books in July 2023. For more, follow him on Instagram (@timstobierski) or his website (www.timstobierski.com).

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