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Empress Indignant
Lena Drake
Empress Indignant
Inspired by true events
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Lena Drake
Apr 6, 20202 min read
The Englishman
LA in the summer. Birthday party in mid-city. You wore a cardigan; wide mouth and cartoon smile. Accent gave you away, home somewhere...
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Lena Drake
Apr 5, 20203 min read
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, 20201 min read
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, 20201 min read
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, 20201 min read
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...
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Lena Drake
Apr 5, 20201 min read
The 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, 20201 min read
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, 20202 min read
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, 20201 min read
The Wild Boy
I find you on Sunset Blvd with heavy eyes, lips cradling a cigarette. You pick me a white carnation from my neighbor's lawn--you thought...
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Lena Drake
Apr 5, 20201 min read
The 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, 20201 min read
The 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, 20201 min read
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, 20201 min read
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...
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Lena Drake
Apr 1, 20201 min read
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...
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Lena Drake
Apr 1, 20201 min read
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...
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Lena Drake
Apr 1, 20201 min read
James #3
You worked at the gym and trained at the gym and ate at the gym and I hate the gym. Six months in, I found myself having erotic dreams...
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Lena Drake
Apr 1, 20201 min read
James #4
You fucked like a republican. Photo By: Kelly Balch
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Lena Drake
Apr 1, 20201 min read
James #5
You took me to fancy dinners and watched me eat with my hands. I nodded along to your work-talk as though I knew/cared about what you...
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Lena Drake
Apr 1, 20201 min read
The Six Sticks
Wake up at 6am because “gains.” Put on Inside Lacrosse. Take a deep breath, inhale motivation, exhale negativity. Visualize winning....
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Lena Drake
Apr 1, 20201 min read
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
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