Josephine Keys
Massive gains
A man states on a bodybuilding forum that no trait is as unattractive as a negative canthal tilt. If the outer corners of the eyes turn downwards the man is doomed to lifelong celibacy. Nuns caught riding other nuns were given penance. The closeness of words lioness and lionness lies in wait. Fitness for work doesn’t come without scoring. Girls caught grifting unravel and wait for repurpose. Girls caught grifting are said to be beautiful martyrs.
Marta is really into manufacturing private horror. Brian is really into accidentally connecting to his flatmates’ bluetooth speakers in the middle of the night and hearing the show he’s watching blare in their rooms — they hear him laughing through the walls. Lin is really into telling people ‘don’t forget it’s still the space age it’s just the space has contracted to a nanoscale’. Jock is really into aestheticising bad Amazon reviews. Richard is really into carrying the 2kg of sirloin he got on special around the office and showing his coworkers its superior qualities. Nadine is really into pouring coffee though her hair for an attractive tint and praying to archangel Gabriel for emotional sensitivity protection.
Without saying much, recede. Recoiling begets recoiling, until you are one recursive loop, and impossible to visualise. Abandon a sleep schedule. Aversion gives you the means to sort. To be slow but have so much processing power. In short bursts, exceed yourself in order to survive.
Josephine Keys is a writer and perfumer from Tāmaki Makaurau. Her poetry has been published in Turbine|Kapohau and Starling, and her scent designs appeared as an element in Weta Workshop’s immersive Bug Lab exhibit. She currently lives in Naarm/Melbourne.