Home > Archive > Issue 25

Gary Colemanesque
Daniel Nester

posted Oct 30, 2007

1. a child star waits to grow into a grotesque version of himself
2. his legs quiver in growth, his eyes pop out, his bright pants tighten, he cries
3. his parents tie him down to a chair and whisper his lines
4. his parents feed him toasted pastries filled with fake fruit
5. a slate claps in front of him, he walks into apple take-charlie take
6. you’d see hoardings of him everywhere outside town
7. a child star grows up to stare at full moons in the daytime and smile
8. his agent sends him commercials, sings him compliments, hangs up
9. his parents loosen the constraints to feed him liquid food
10. a child star waits for his nose to bulge out
11. he will then look like a criminal or a porn star
12. his premature forehead bulges out
13. it is monstrous, and people look away or gawk
14. he stares at the camera when he finishes his lines
15. he takes late flights to Central Virginia to rest up where later he’ll marry
16. three people sit down to whisper his lines
17. a child star always memorizes what to say next

© 2007 Daniel Nester

© Soft Skull

Daniel Nester is the author of God Save My Queen, God Save My Queen II, and The History of My World Tonight. His writing has appeared in The Best Creative Nonfiction, Third Rail: The Poetry of Rock and Roll, The Best American Poetry 2003, Open City, and elsewhere. He writes articles and reviews for Poets & Writers, Time Out New York, PoetryFoundation.org and Bookslut, edits the online journal Unpleasant Event Schedule, and maintains a website at danielnester.com.