Ashish Kumar Singh

Cruising Spot

From where I am standing, I can see fog

settling in for the night beneath shut shops

and nude trees, having been kicked

like a mangled dog by the trotting public.

It’s almost 12 and the place is nearly

empty except for the few passengers

hurrying to catch the last bus. But I linger,

avoiding eye contacts with few that

like myself have nowhere else to go.

For a moment I scroll on my phone,

pretending to be nonchalant about why

we are here. I see a pair go into

the dilapidated bathroom which remains

only for the purpose of stealing pleasure

whenever one could. I know I’ll regret

this as soon as my body hits the cold bed

waiting in the hostel room. When a man,

shy like myself nods and walks

towards the bathroom, I follow him

as obediently as one sheep does the other.

Inside, it's all black as if the night of the

whole city has accumulated in this place.

He bends down, fumbles with the button

of my jeans while all around me the air

is disturbed by the heavy breathing

of others. I close my eyes as the man

takes and places me on his tongue.

When I look down, all I see is his eyes

looking skyward, like two bright stars

fallen from their place.

Ashish Kumar Singh (he/him) is a queer Indian poet whose work has appeared in Passages North, The Bombay Literary Magazine, Grain, Chestnut Review, Fourteen Poems, Foglifter, Atlanta Review and elsewhere. Currently, he serves as an editorial assistant at Visual Verse and a poetry reader at ANMLY. Twitter: @Ashish_stJude Instagram: @ashish_the_reader