Liam Gehrig Bach
my body is all burns and wires
skin and blood, electricity and fires
heartbeat heat that sticks then flows
flat waves at sea, jellyfish that glows
cannot afford sentience like mine
which batters my skull with ice and brine
a black lightbulb which refuses to shine
suppressing a thought, deleting a line
_____________________________
my brain is all slush and salt
wrinkles like cracks in winter’s asphalt
three years without december snow
memories that falter and a mind that does not know
if my faculties are rich or poor
or if i’m having illusions of grandeur
then realizing, ah, one more way to skin a cat
one more strikeout when it’s my turn at bat
my soul is all skies and grass
an endless plane of reflections in glass
where a boy holds a beating heart as if it will explode
its cold and colored cables speak in some type of code
which wires should he sew, and which wires should he prune?
ignore the idle threats, if the bomb is real then let it bloom
or fuck it cut them all and milk the blood from the machine
lotus eater shouldn’t mind spilling red onto the green
Liam graduated from Bard College as a biology/psychology double major and completed independent research about the psychology of perceiving conservation efforts. He will graduate from NYU in the Animal Studies M.A. program at the end of 2023. Liam works as a journalist for an online psychiatry journal, Mad in America, and uses feminist and queer theory to unpack current systemic issues that affect otherized groups. His creative works cross media and conventions, including visual art, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and video games, including his game Birdfeeder which will serve as his NYU thesis project. It is about a shapeshifter. When he isn’t writing, Liam is likely walking with his dogs, thinking about sleep, or sleeping.
Instagram: chapterliam