the lines they draw, recite for movies,

too clever and clairvoyant,

too assuming the crystalline abyss,

too therapy to-go, too “this’ll improve

with thyme” and too delivering me

to other capable hands, clean Tudor

hands, tumescent prose while telling me

“too much”, two cents post-selling me

fuchsia, tenants renting my conscience

well on their way to hell. i like

to draw cards, in life and for Mom,

to draw games for the sake of playing,

to call a spade a shovel when the double’s

the same, to draw Romeos closer

like clandestine magi, to put aside

my nothings to purify the piss -

i’m fond of fairies and ferrying friends,

of knotting ends and fixing frays,

and i don’t like drinking alone -

i buy bites from the barkeep, buy time

for the tolerators and burnouts

to bite me, lustful and bituminous,

paint me bruised with their good intentions

and i take advice like a good, good boy,

i take it 96% pure with an unsalted rim,

like a quick draw outlaw Casanova, like

you know that/those one(s),

Hans Robinson Loja is currently a medical student in San Antonio. He has most recently had pieces published in Ink in Thirds and his school’s literary magazine, Connective Tissue. In his free time, he enjoys gaming, talking with friends, and overanalyzing whatever media has captured his interest for the time being.)