Adam’s Birthday by Dylan James

cover up in the bathtub, chlorine breeze.

the shower rod keeps me company.

it tells me stories of life as steel

as i laugh myself to sleep.

castaway party for 12—people burying their ugliness.

funny like fool’s gold, i think my soul is aging well.

in the eyes you'll see every hand in the factory line.

adulthood is eccentric now.

photograph a carcass, show me your magazine!

self-image antibiotics,

shot down by

your own life.
 

can’t connect.

i’ll change my shade.

like a blur.

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“I wrote this piece while hiding away at a party during my sophomore year of college. I trashed it because I was simply struggling to find my place in the world. I didn’t know who I was. Looking back, this piece is one of my favorites.”

Dylan James is an emerging writer based out of Columbus, Ohio. He enjoys reading, hiking, and throwing tennis balls to his dog, Bo.