The Diary of Homer Burchold
The pain, the pain! The excruciating, immeasurable pain! It’s keeping me from thinking, from purely existing. Ah, but who would want to exist in this reality? Humankind, though always barbaric, hit a new low in recent years. It all started when the shortage reared its ugly head. A virus, a plague of some sort, spread across the globe. No one really knows why; however, those who have a semblance of a clue aren’t disclosing any information they may have.
A lot of livestock have died out, as have a lot of vegetables, fruits, and other crops. Food had been reserved for the fortunate. People resorted to theft, and when food couldn’t be found, vandalism. The government stepped in, attempting to intervene in the easiest way they knew how: enacting laws. Then again, they’ve never really been good with creating effective programs and instituting real change.
New laws permitted “the lawful preparation and consumption of human flesh and tissue.” Of course the brain was left off-limits. I assume that the government didn’t want anyone eating a pineal gland and achieving supreme enlightenment.
To curb any grave-robbing or murder, and also for health reasons, the government appointed already exisiting institutions to help with this burgeoning dietary trend. The most excellent chefs and medical professionals joined forces to create hygienic, good tasting, human-based foodstuffs.
However, by this time, the virus had spread to human beings. It was only a matter of time until a large percentage was addicted to the taste of human flesh! America, once being the most obese nation on the planet, had no trouble satiating their enormous appetites. The once proud people who were brave enough to eat their own god are now cannibalistic fiends, intent on engorging themselves on intestines and other entrails.
Granted, I have no qualms with safe and regulated cannibalism. I have even tasted the meat myself, and I am overcome with the occasional urge to indulge in old habits…
I feverishly write this as my body trembles and my palms sweat. Hordes of ravenous carnal connoisseurs are rampaging and roaming through the streets! I’ve been trapped in my attic for god knows how long. I’ve kept hunger at bay by feasting upon my own flesh. There’s a possibility that my body will realize how destructive this affliction is, and I’ll rid myself of this dreadful proclivity for human. This is all for now. The pain is too much to bear.
All Sewn Together
“I saw you, every evening doing the same damn thing. It bothered me, that’s all. Couldn’t stand it. But it was like a train accident, as they say. I couldn’t look away. I only meant to do it for a little, I don’t know why I kept staring, but I did.
It started a month ago. I’d spy from my bedroom, first with my eyes, but then I could see better with my binoculars. Oh… could I SEE BETTER!
So that’s what I did… I watched and watched and watched. It became my ritual for weeks. I needed it. Like you needed each other.
I’ve known you both for the better half of three years. Around the time I moved to the neighborhood. Part of me misses something about the way you live, the way you operate. It’s absolutely glorious! I want it again! But I guess I can’t have it unless I take it away from someone else, can I? Ya, that’s what I thought.
But I didn’t find that love as sweet, nothing you would see on a Hallmark Card or in a rom-com. No, the love I want is subversive. The love I want is upsetting and it can change peoples minds, make their hearts black and crush them into dust and then be reborn as something stronger, with less of an inclination to fall for any bullshit. Any excuse for love.
I know you will be missed, and I am sorry, but I couldn’t help it. I know what I wanted and I wanted you first. It’s only fair. It’s only fair.
Ha, fair! There’s a concept for you. Just like love, the kind of fairness I believe in doesn’t exist. Just like god, to some.
Speaking of him, with his ability to love everyone and watch over them, do you really need him when I can do that for you, and so much more? I’m better than that and I am mortal; someone to physically interact with, a flesh and blood communion that satiates the sexual appetite.
Did you think his parents saw? Would they say anything? I think not because I know, deep down, that they hate you. More than they hate me, because they don’t know who I truly am. You see, I keep my true love hidden because true love scares people. It causes sane people to get jealous, and one better be careful when evoking such strong feelings in people. That’s why it’s crucial to find the perfect one, someone who won’t enjoy becoming twisted with you. Perhaps that’s why I chose you. But for whatever reason, you got scared.
I snatched you right up, huh? Right from the door and without a trace. You’re never going back to him. You’re staying with me forever. You’ll learn to like it. But there’s no way I’m letting you see him again. That would cause you to get jealous and want him instead of me. You would try to escape, and I couldn’t allow that, could I?
You see, the way we cuddle! You’re telling me you didn’t miss this! You’re a liar if you didn’t.
Goodnight, sweetheart. Please never leave."
Joe Szalinski is a writer/performer from Pittsburgh, PA. His writing has appeared in various lit mags and anthologies. In addition to writing, he also acts, makes music, and performs spoken-word and comedy. Last summer, Joe released his debut poetry chapbook, Nondescript Other Such. He regularly posts cartoons and videos to his Instagram account @poetry_hugger.
Joe has a soft spot for the 1922 classic, Nosferatu.