Carnegiea

Literary Magazine

Category: August

MEAT

By

On August 31, 2019

In August

By Roman Sherman

FADE IN
(Off white inter-title card with small TNR cap font zooms into focus reading “ AND NOW A BRIEF MESSAGE FROM PETA” )

BLACK, THEN CAMERA FOCUSES IN ON SCENE

WHITE NONDESCRIPT CUBICLE

UNNAMED MAN #1, Friendly but stern faced, dressed in a poorly fitting white button down shirt and casual black slacks, tensely stands in the center of the room, staring uncomfortably at camera

UM #1
(belting)
THIS COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!

RED, CAMERA FOCUSES ON SCENE

WHITE WALLED, SYMMETRICAL ROOM, no furniture except for a table with one chair. On the table rests a silver domed plate containing PORKY In the chair with rigid posture sits

MIKE, Mid 20’s, clothed in a red t-shirt and well fitting denim pants. Dead eyed but attractive

MIKE
(staring uncomfortably at the camera, saying all lines forced and robotically)
Golly gee, I am ready to dig into this juicy steak. At this point I am sure that there will be no repercussions for my decision to eat this meat.
MIKE looks at chrome dome on table and reaches to grasp handle. Mike lifts dome then revealing…

PORKY, mid 1’s beefsteak, dressed in only herbs and a mild vinaigrette. PORKY sits on white plate. Two googly eyes and paper mouth cut out flush out PORKY’s features. When PORKY speaks, the plate gyrates signalling consciousness.

MIKE
Yup siree I am redeee for some FOOD
MIKE lifts fork and steak knife aggressively and forced

PORKY
(Speaking in robust brooklin vernacular)
WHOO YOU THINK YOU BOUT TO COP A PIECE OF MEE?

MIKE
(Vocal intonation shifts to very serious and quiet)
Yes… um sorry do I know you?

PORKY
Heya pal its me porky the beefsteak, the toughest beefsteak in the tri-burrough area. Iah came here tonite to tell you a bit about a the way things work around here

MIKE
(tenor and meek)
I’m sorry this is not in the script… what’s happening guys

PORKY
Whoah that’s not how it works around here buddy you look at me when youre talking and you speak when you’re spoken too.

MIKE
No this is definitely not on the script (pulls out a script) you see it says that I eat the steak here and then…(loses train of thought) what is this some joke or something like I just wanted…

PORKY
Hey mothafucka does it look like I’m jokin heah?

MIKE
No I’m not…

PORKY
I said DOES IT LOOK LIKE IM MOTHERFUCKIN JOKIN YA BITCH ASS MADERFUKKA?!
(gun appears on table)

MIKE
Ok guys this is enough I get it

PORKY
STOP INTERRUPTING ME YOU LITTLE RAT BASTARD
(Beefsteak starts vibrating voraciously)

MIKE
OK. let’s just say this was actually a part of the script. Where does it go from here? Like why in the name of christ would there be a vibrating beefsteak swearing with a New York accent?? Beefsteaks don’t even have arms like why is this gun even relevant in this situation?? How does this make any sense at all??
CAMERA TURNS AWAY FROM SCENE FOR SEVERAL SECONDS, WHEN IT TURNS BACK, PORKY IS MOUNTED ON THE FACE OF A HAIRY MUSCULAR MAN WEARING A TYPICAL 1960’s GANGSTER SUIT

PORKY
(Throbbing)
WHO DOESN’T HAVE ARMS NOW YOU LITTLE
CRAKAH ASS MOFUKAH

PORKY grabs MIKE forcefully and places him in a headlock between his pronounced arm muscles.
YOU STILL THINK THIS IS SOME FUCKIN JOKE??
PORKY grabs and cocks gun and places it against MIKE’s shaking head
YOU STILL FIND THIS FUNNY HUH???

MIKE
This guy is seriously hurting me. Wait holy shit is that gun real?? What the fuck is this?? GET ME OUT OF HERE THIS IS NOT FUNNY GUYS!!!

PORKY
No you’re gonna open your little bitch ears and listen to me! You thought you could just come in here with your prissy ass button up and take a bite out of me? PORKY? And even after I tell you who I am you don’t give me respect. I got connections. Mi familia is the biggest meat based crime syndicate in all of Brooklyn. We know what shit you’re up to.

MIKE
I have no idea what you’re talking about just please put the gun down and we can talk about it!! Please!

PORKY
(pushing Mike further against the wall)
I know what you ate for breakfast Mike. Sausage links. Motherfucking sausage links. D’you know what percent beef those links are? God damn 20%!! That was my little nephew Vinnie in there! I’ll never see his chubby face again. And we don’t forget shit like that in our family!
(places gun on MIKES forhead)

MIKE
(whimpering)
No please!! Whoever you are!! I’ll give you anything just let me go!!

PORKY
ITS TOO LATE FOR THAT
A single gunshot is heard
CUT TO MIKES DEAD BODY WITH BLOOD POOLING OUT OF HEAD SPELLING “MEAT KILLS”
CAMERA FADES TO WHITE

WHITE NONDESCRIPT CUBICLE

UNM #1
Beef is high in bad cholesterol and calories making it the #1 cause of death among US citizens. Voting with your pocketbook is the only way to prolong your life and save your family from a hell of cardiovascular disease. Support PETA and stop eating meat today.

The colors of Tucson

By

On August 29, 2019

In August

By Jordan Atencio

I was inspired by the sunsets in Arizona.

Sound

By

On August 27, 2019

In August

By Evelyn Miller

Sound was here,
gently grasping onto
crisp ocean waves,
whispering in warm breezes

But,
when I’d awoken from
a light slumber,
I was greeted
not with the chirping
of morning birds,
but with the sound of
silence

Soft lips fluttering
over bright white teeth,
as words of
joy and pain
streamed out of people’s mouths,
then had no meaning
as my ears blocked out
any form of noise.
No longer
were my
useless ears
blessed with the
familiar ring of
laughter and family

My enforced silence
made me feel
alone
deprived
empty

So
I sailed
across the
7 seas of memory
in search of
my lost friend.
On a deserted beach
is where I found
Sound, sinking
slowly, drifting
further and further from
the shoreline,
sinking into
navy blue waters of loss.

And so,
as I dropped
into the warm sand,
faced the setting sun,
and closed my eyes,
a cloak of
dead silence
strangled me in a cold embrace
and ensured that
nothing would ever be the same.

I like to write to poetry, as it is a way to express creativity through words and images in different forms.

i smile when i think of you

By

On August 24, 2019

In August

By Maggie Mirto

In this piece I wanted to illustrate the joy and wonderment that comes with love. A moment so blissful it feels like a dream, but so secure you know it will last. This is a piece for my AP portfolio, where I concentrate on fashion, a medium through which queer people are changing the world.

a different type of soldier

By

On August 21, 2019

In August

By Bryn Callie

when i was younger i never wanted to be a soldier. now i wait for my chance to fight in the war. war. a bloodless war. a fight for the sleek gray wolf that howls at the blue moon. the baby orangutan who cries as her home is destroyed. the coral bathing in acid that no one seems to understand. i sit here and wait. drawing up a battle plan in the endless corridors of my mind. maybe they don’t yet know my name, but they should, because i am who they fear, and some day, i’ll give them hell.

I wanted to express my distaste for the minimal effort that is being put into environmental conservation in our country.

Untitled

By

On August 19, 2019

In August

By Holland Sterling

I used to not believe in the desert’s beauty. That’s kind of crazy for me to think now because I look at it and I think, “wow, I get to live here. How lucky am I.” It’s amazing what the world gives us and I just wish more people would choose to give back to it. 

Lunar

By

On August 15, 2019

In August

By Hannah Vance

My lungs are filled with liquid and my shoes are filled with moss
My mind knows what she’s doing but my heart I find is lost
There’re paths that wind and die; I can’t remember which I’ve crossed
No longer can I tell which words are lies; potential’s tossed

The fossil of my fortune is foreshadowed in failure
Cursive makes my title neater, distracting from its nature
I find a bed my size, just right, I make it and I lay there
But Goldilocks cut her story short and we know she couldn’t stay there

The moon, my idol, always hanging far too low and far too close
Reflecting back a former figure in an unfamiliar pose
It’s blurry and unclear the line dividing friends from foes
A certain sense of certainty, up from the grave it rose

Don’t worry, before I know its face it’ll be back beneath the soil
Caterpillars change to butterflies; it’s illogical to be loyal
The fantasy’s fantastic the potential’s nearly royal
But you step too far from normal and feel your toes begin to boil

They’ll pluck your teeth straight from your head, make you think you’re still a kid
They’ll dangle them in front of you, remind you what you did
Bid insecurity goodbye, cap cups off with new lids
But something simmers under your skin, still filled with bubbling acid

Gentle, untouched outside, it’s hard to gaze past the gloss
My lungs are filled with liquid and my shoes are filled with moss.

Lunar is a poem about my personal experience going through different phases as a teen and the way that has shaped myself, the way I interact with others, and how I present myself to the world.

Timeless Tucson

By

On August 12, 2019

In August

By Taylor Nicole

I love the concepts of time. And just so happens that Tucson seems to almost never change. It’s desert view rarely changes. I admire the plants, animals, and the sunsets. Tucson is timeless. A poet once told me, Tucson is home to talent. Home to many. No matter where one travels, they always keep home in their pockets. The places we go have a thanks to our parents, and our home town. Tucson is Timeless. No matter which way you see it. Home is home. Where we grow and learn to love. Tucson is Timeless. The hot desert and summer heats, can easily shift to the snow coverings of Friday, February 22nd. Tucson is Timeless, and we should love every minute.  

Sunrise

By

On August 10, 2019

In August

By Isabella Cheeseman

“Who are you?”

She stared emptily at the sunrise. “A damaged girl with dreams,” she said sadly, shifting her eyes to the boy now sitting next to her. “And you?”

The boy’s eyes glimmered and he sighed, “A broken boy with hope.”

The girl plastered what could have been a smile on her face and looked back out to the sunrise, admiring the colors painting the morning sky for what might be the last time.

I made this early in the morning when a sprout of inspiration hit me. It’s something I might write about as a prompt but I made it around the idea of loneliness.

Untitled Photoset

By

On August 8, 2019

In August

By Mila Kelly

My process isn’t very complex. I don’t spend hours editing in photoshop . When I want to take a photo, often times it’s something I find beautiful. That’s why I take a lot of portraits of my friends and occasionally nature.

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