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Artwork: Watching Together by Will Jacques

Dating the Gorgon
P. Andrew Miller

She has a name for each
one, each writhing tendril.

Dora is the curious one
who flicks her tongue against
my face, lightly tasting me.

Penny is the loving one
rubbing my cheek with her rough scales,
nibbling my ear with sharp teeth.

Daphne is the shy one,
coiling behind the ear,
dodging my caressing fingers.

Meg is the angry one,
stuck in the back, constantly hissing,
trying to reach around her sisters to strike me.

Nestra is the sly one,
subtle, slithering against my blindfold,
tugging at it with her fangs,
hoping to pull it off,
so I can meet the stony gaze
of her mother.

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Dating the Sphinx
P. Andrew Miller

Every night is a riddle.

Every night it’s the same riddle.

She jumps on the bed and stares
into my face, her eyes gold
with the pupil a slit down the middle,
her long black hair just tickling my cheeks.

“What walks on four legs in the morning,
two in the afternoon,
and four in the evening?”

“Man,” I say as she spreads her wings,
the light shining off of each ivory feather.
“Man,” I say as she arches her back.
“It’s MAN,” I say as her claws tear through
the mattress.

Every night the same.

Tonight, she jumps on the bed,
looks into my face,
raises her paw and asks
her question.

“Do you love me?”
and the light glints off her claws.

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