Ryan Boyd

THE SILENT FILM STAR TRIED TO END IT ALL

& he would've done it, too, if only
that banana peel hadn't made him slip
& accidentally put a bullet through
the window, into the alleyway. cue
a cat's offended squeal interrupting irving

berlin bleating through the radio, when i'm alone
with only dreams of you, he would've seen
the banana peel if he'd slept a wink
in two days. & then, that other time, he

was just about to take a leap
from the sidewalk & bellyflop right
onto an oncoming car, when wouldn't you know it,
a nudged piano fell & mashed his legs, mid-
jump. so now, the studio won't return

the calls of a bed-ornament amputee, &
the nurse left the radio on again & he can't
get up to turn it off, what'll I do?
what'll I do?

Ryan Boyd graduated with a degree in Creative Writing in 2012, and has been featured in Literary Orphans, The Bacon Review, and Leveler. He lives in Los Angeles.