The One In Europe
LA in the summer. Birthday party in mid-city. You wear a cardigan; you have a wide mouth and a cartoon smile. You say something about...
Empress Indignant
Lena Drake
Empress Indignant
Inspired by true events
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Lena Drake
- Apr 5, 2020
- 3 min
The Investment Banker
I went out with an investment banker and he couldn’t complete a sentence without yawning. But, I knew the 70-hour work week was worth it...
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Lena Drake
- Apr 5, 2020
- 1 min
The One Beside The Seine
I lost my name in the kinks of his upper lip Humming Nutini for the sky As it peeled back tenors of pink and red I alone survived him...
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Lena Drake
- Apr 5, 2020
- 1 min
The One In The Window
Thursday: Legs spill out of a window in Soho and we call to the ankles to let us up. Italian men and assorted models from the fancy parts...
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Lena Drake
- Apr 5, 2020
- 1 min
The Dancer
He comes from the west. Sun spilling from his skin, collecting in small pools on my sheets--dirty with seasons of exchange. Our throats...
42 views0 comments
Lena Drake
- Apr 5, 2020
- 1 min
Dismal Man
You’re dimmer than you were before they swallowed you whole. Before the sound of your heart aching was muffled by the black of somebody’s...
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Lena Drake
- Apr 5, 2020
- 1 min
The Alcoholic
He prays like the hopeless, the way their fingers lace across a bottle or a waist—fingers forgetting to whom they belong. Bible study...
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Lena Drake
- Apr 5, 2020
- 2 min
The Actor
An actor’s process is a delicate journey. Acting takes perseverance, preparation, and commitment (to the craft, not your significant...
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Lena Drake
- Apr 5, 2020
- 1 min
The Wild Boy
I find you on Sunset Blvd with heavy eyes, lips cradling a cigarette. You pick me a white carnation from my neighbors lawn--you thought...
133 views1 comment
Lena Drake
- Apr 5, 2020
- 1 min
Man In Motion
I used to look for your face, or a face that looked like yours, when the A would pass the C--as if it were a race, as if I was racing...
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Lena Drake
- Apr 2, 2020
- 1 min
Just A Friend
It’s raining in New York. Your back against concrete and my face in your sweater. You're holding me for “warmth.” Your fingers move down...
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Lena Drake
- Apr 2, 2020
- 1 min
My Friend's Boyfriend's Friend
Double date at The Spaniard. They pitched him for his jawline and that was enough to get me out of the house. Italian food in Midtown. He...
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Lena Drake
- Apr 1, 2020
- 1 min
Adult Frat Boy
College basketball on every screen in soho. You were less memorable than the game. Your face reminds me of my first beer, of the first...
39 views0 comments
Lena Drake
- Apr 1, 2020
- 1 min
James #1
You spend more time critiquing my jeans than trying to get in them. I tell you the tattoo of fire on your arm is hot (pun intended). You...
37 views0 comments
Lena Drake
- Apr 1, 2020
- 1 min
James #2
I don’t watch reality tv. I’m better than that. My ignorance leaves me standing on the corner of Santa Monica and Fairfax where a...
33 views0 comments
Lena Drake
- Apr 1, 2020
- 1 min
James #3
You were working at the gym and training at the gym and eating at the gym and socializing at the gym and I hate the gym. Six months in, I...
27 views0 comments
Lena Drake
- Apr 1, 2020
- 1 min
James #4
You fucked like a republican. Photo By: Kelly Balch
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Lena Drake
- Apr 1, 2020
- 1 min
James #5
You take me to fancy dinners and watch me eat with my hands. I nod while you tell me about work, as though I know what you're talking...
32 views0 comments
Lena Drake
- Apr 1, 2020
- 1 min
The Six Sticks
Wake up at 6am because “gains.” Put on Inside Lacrosse. Take a deep breath, inhale motivation, exhale negativity. Visualize winning....
35 views0 comments
Lena Drake
- Apr 1, 2020
- 1 min
The Greek
Ταξίδευα στο πίσω μέρος του ποδηλάτου σας μέσα από τα βουνά της Ελλάδας. Με πήγες στην πατρίδα που ανήκε στον παππού σου. Μου είπες ότι...
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αυτοκράτειρα αγανακτισμένη
1993
Just tell the story again, of the sparrows who flew from falling Rome, their blazed wings.
-Ocean Vuong