I awake in a stranger’s house & see
Michelangelo on his ceiling surge
like the tides of Saint Malo, a tourist
stranded in Mont Saint-Michel &
the letters repeat in his name,
Saint Manuel. If legs could dance
the Aegean Sea like a virgin needle
piercing fabric for the first time.

I am found in a cemetery of men
buried under Picasso’s Starry Night,
caught in the mesh of a dreamcatcher.

The door opens, and his arms
are similar to wings, chest pulled
together with embroidered seams,
& his expression a mistake
to be hidden amongst other
shameful things.

…

Brandon Shane is an alum of California State University, Long Beach. He’s pursuing an MFA while working as a writing instructor and substitute teacher. You can see his work in the Berlin Literary Review, Acropolis Journal, Grim & Gilded, Messy Misfits, Mister Magazine, Remington Review, Discretionary Love, among others.