222 or asyndetic

i / liberates you / side by / side

Artwork by Candice Evers 
i
betrays you
you comedy
fool you
greying
ghost—

i
hides from
i’s face
in mirrors
made
shuttershut—

i
disassembles
i’sself in
subzero
overthink
each night
each bit—

i’s i
chopped 
up
for parts—

i
libe-
rates y-
ou
si-
de
by
si-
de we
de-
void
doublethought
down—

came
saw
conquered

in threes—

i
be-
trays
you syco-
phant—

i’s
you,,,,,,,
dutty
wining
medusa
til i
forgets
godwork—

Dior J. Stephens

Dior J. Stephens, PhD is a Black, Queer poet and interdisciplinary scholar. Their debut poetry collection, CRUEL/CRUEL (Nightboat Books, 2023), was a finalist for the 2024 Ohioana Book Award in Poetry. They've received fellowships from Cave Canem, Sewanee, and Lambda Literary. He serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Foglifter Journal and Press.

Candice Evers

I’m Candice Evers, a St. Louis-based illustrator with an MFA in Illustration and Visual Culture from Washington University in St. Louis and a graduate of Wellesley College. I live with my two smedium-sized dogs, Indy (pictured left) and Junie B.