Hopkinsville goblins waltz with moonlight
Temptations of toothy owl shadows
In the woods behind our trailer home

Tender lungs exhaling warm swamp gas
My weather balloon heart climbs tonight
Eyes aflame, meteor-enlightened

“I bet you wanna fuck one of ’em.”
You taunted, but you have no idea—
You don’t see what stars they navigate

Supple ears like bat wings entice me
Engorge me, stir my legs, blue star breath
On my neck, I crave those teeth in me

Frogskin touch, sweet supple hidden folds
Galaxies tucked away, seeking them
I nibble, sweet shy teeth, eager tongue

Gangly claws rake my skin, sink bruises
At my throat, my shoulders shake with ache
Take me home, my nocturne heart trembles

And you’re in, within me, pinning me
Your teeth sharp and gleaming with moonshine
Your stomach acid with jealousy

Jealous of their ovipositors
The way I milk them in front of you,
Envelop their egg sacs in my mouth

Hatch a star, birth a trembling planet
Burst wide with albumen and mucus
Shameless eggshell teeth and blistered tongue

Dear hatchlings burrow skyward from earth
Tadpoles beloved by two warm wet worlds,
Two solar systems in one belly

You finish quick and inelegant
But I know that too is part of it,
A needed step of visitation

Hopkinsville goblins waltz within me
Bones pregnant to bursting with moonlight
But tonight we wake up the neighbors

Shotgun hail rattles trees, goblins flee
You stumble and shout to check the woods.
I cradle Rigel secret, inside

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Rick Hollon (They/fey)
Rick Hollon is a nonbinary, intersex, bi/queer writer, editor, and parent from the American Midwest. Fey spent their teen years believing they were being abducted by aliens. Feir work has appeared or is forthcoming in perhappened, miniskirt magazine, Whale Road Review, (mac)ro(mic), Sledgehammer Lit, and other small-press publications. Find them on Twitter @SailorTheia.