Poetry by Liam Strong

negotiations of the third kind

Coon Toe Bill / down at the trainyard / gossiped / about a / woman / (he annotated / her as / a
man-woman) / who was struck / by a sportsboat / while swimming / in Cathead Bay / said / the
autopsy / couldn’t tell / yet / if she drowned / or died / of blood / loss / first / i asked Bill / why
not both / he retorted / you can / only have one / death / but i didn’t / want to / disagree / (just in
case / he wouldn’t / sell me weed / as if / i was some / kind of / enemy)

Liam Strong (they/them) is a queer neurodivergent cripple punk writer and photographer who owns two Squishmallows, three Buddhas, a VHS of Cats The Musical, and somewhere between four and eight jean jackets. They are the author of the chapbook Everyone's Left the Hometown Show (Bottlecap Press, 2023). Find them on Instagram/Twitter: @beanbie666