the firemen of philadelphia are giddy, expressionless dancers

by Stephen Brown

The back wall is gone, its skyline framed by black char and slow drips of clotted blood. Hop-stepping between debris, firemen curl to occupy this precious space, the top of the tower, roof encroaching every corner of every room. Their bulky costumes bunch at their backs, the fabric forming the familiar hunchbacked folds of vulture wings.

Flared suction-cup base grounded firmly to the flat surface of my dresser, my dildo sits on pretty trophied display, scavenged from its hidden compartment beneath layers of soft underclothes, the once-closed drawer sagging open—a limb from the corpse, pulled loose its socket by the birds.

They steal my AirPods, too.

A torn sheet of notebook paper taped to some still standing structure reads: "I have your dog." Somewhere far away, I can hear him crying.

Photo of Stephen Brown

BIO: Stephen Brown is a writer-activist with a Philly attitude and a background in LGBT+ studies. He is the author of two multi-genre chapbooks, A Portrait of Brotherhood as Two Boys from Space (2025) and His Boyfriend Materials (2024), both of which are available from Bottlecap Press. Find him at: scarletwitchy.bsky.social