Maya Cheav
why I've been blacklisted from every strip club in the pacific northwest
TL;DR: it’s because I don’t let the boys have any fun.
I know that cold metal pole,
those bedazzled bodysuits
shrinkwrapped to skin.
I’ve sported the pink
fur coats, crawled out of
too many too-friendly hands.
I know what it’s like to have a name
that doesn’t belong start to
wag you.
so if I see them slip rohypnol into cock-
tails and text their wives
about their late work, is it my fault
they end up face down
in my getting-to-know-you knuckles?
Maya Cheav is described as “vaguely off-putting” by loved ones and “well-liked” by mosquitoes. Her writing has been featured or is forthcoming in Ouroboros, Free Flash Fiction, Stone of Madness, Bizarrchitecture, ALOCASIA, Scapegoat Review, and Across the Margin. They are the author of LYKAIA (Bottlecap Press, 2023).