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"Soft Desires and Other Requirements From a Rotten Body" by Leana Krystal

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Title image shows a sattelite view of the whole Earth, with the northern hemisphere covered in snow.

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January 15th, 2026

Soft Desires and Other Requirements From a Rotten Body

by Leana Krystal

Could we let my thoughts be polished-smooth like river stones?
Could we let me drift among sun-warm ideas and gossamer thoughts?
Could we just, stop, lie down
Let me catch my breath

I ask you, because it's easier than doing
I ask, so that it's not my own fault

So let us share an evening doze
And soothing-hot drinks from crooked mugs
And comfortable hugs, and languid hands,
Perhaps even a warm, filling snack.

Let me tuck my face in your neck –
You won't have to smile
I'll join you on an errand run
And for the both of us, talk

We'll pretend I'm really a person
We'll pretend you're not built of walls
Ignore the crying child in my ribs
And the whispering demons in your mind

So that, among two friends
The bruises hurt less
The ghosts quiet
And that scorching sun finally sets


About the Poet
Leana Krystal resides in Bávaro, La Altagracia, Dominican Republic.
Read the poet's biography and Wax Poetry and Art publications on Leana Krystal's Artist Page.

This poem is also featured in Comet #7, published in the Wax Poetry and Art Library.

Keywords: friendship, leisure, routine, quiet, ghosts

Previously published in Wax International:
Her Voice Was Like Feathers
by Souad Zakarani

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