Raul Alvarez
from The Devil: A Guidebook
last night
I was startled
awake by the devil
sitting on my chest
he handed me a note
which said I like you more than just friends
I told him we could talk about it in the morning
his breathing
softened
like meat
in teeth
he watched me
until sunrise
patient
and small
at the foot of my bed
from The Devil: A Guidebook
during our first kiss
my friend and I were so pretty
the devil stitched
us together
put us
in a frame
we learned
to talk
through threaded lips
into each other’s throat
Raul Alvarez holds an MFA from Columbia College Chicago. His recent poetry can be found in PANK, Court Green, and the Black Tongue Review. He is a book reviewer for NewCity Chicago and The Los Angeles Review, and maintains a blog at raulrafaelalvarez.com.