“Am I pretty?” Trouble keeps following

us. Our love, love, is messy. We hunger.

We put the anger in danger. We sling

bling but to no avail. Trickster. Monster.

Kickstarter. This yōkai needs plastic

surgery. “Am I pretty?” You know how

this goes. Kuchisake-onna, tragic,

almost, Slit Mouth Woman with her Glasgow

Smile, starved for this, asking random cowards,

“Pretty?” Stray cat strut, what’s mine is now ours;

love your blood, your B-bones, your Gangsta-pearl.

Look at all these brokenhearted bastards

who shall never love. That’s not us. Our scars

tie us up tight, pigtailed, knuckled blunt grrl.

][][

Notes:

Yōkai are supernatural spirits in Japanese folklore. Glasgow smile is a wound caused by making a cut from the corners of a victim’s mouth up to the ears, leaving scars in the shape of a smile.