TRIGGER WARNINGS
By John Tustin
“The Indigenous Rainbow Lollipop Review invites one and all to submit their poetry. We believe that tribal fealties and race/sex/gender take precedence over the poem so be sure to tell us all about that. We also insist you provide trigger warnings in your cover letter even though you have no clue what will trigger us. Figure it out.” with love,
the editors
Warning!
this poem is about love
this poem is about loss
this poem is about death
and the funerals of cuddly despots
this poem eviscerated a little girl’s collection of stuffed animals
this poem is about fat people
who are fat because they eat bad food and too much of it
and that is their own fault
this poem will contain the words
FUCK
CUNT
SLUT
REPUBLICAN
DONALD TRUMP
BITCH
HETEROSEXUAL
this poem will have several pictures of an erect penis
entering the brain of a horny middle-aged woman
this poem will not speak for itself
will not explain or draw a diagram
because this poem hopes you’re smart enough
to come to your own conclusion
brave enough to read what makes you uncomfortable
adult enough to crawl out of the womb
of safespace
and read words without getting into the fetal position
and complaining to your college’s dean of inclusivity
this poem is sorry your daddy didn’t express his love to you
the way you wished he would
this poem is sorry your mommy beat you with a wooden spoon
because you wouldn’t finish your supper when you were six years old
but these things
are not the poem’s fault
this poem will eschew proper capitalization
punctuation
and also fuck your feelings
this poem is looking at you right now
and hoping you have a reaction
good
or bad
this poem is winking
this poem is crying
this poem is balancing a ball on its nose
and clapping for the reward
of a single fish
this poem is two saggy balls
lying in the wet spot
this poem is based on a true story
the names have not been changed in order to trigger the innocent
I hope you like it