Cruising

“What about the cops?”

“What about them?

“Aren’t you scared you’ll get caught?”

“I just tell them that I’m taking a piss.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“I had sex with a cop once.”

“What?”

“It wasn’t as hot as you’d think it would be.”

“What ever happened to ‘all cops are bastards’, eh?”

“I don’t care.”

“What ever happened to a serious relationship?”

“I don’t know if that ever existed?”

“What happened to Toronto?”
“Everyone says this city used to be so much better, but I wasn’t even 

alive them, so I can’t say shit.”

“Queen Street West?”

“Fuck that?”

“Who was your last hookup?”

“It was shit, you don’t want to hear about it.

Nice guy, mid-thirties. Millennial. Kinda cringe but not too corny.”

“Nice, nice.”

“We met by the baseball diamond and he started talking about astrology and aliens.”

“Delusional.”

“Ya, but he was hot.”

“How?”

“He had a couple of piercings and a buzzcut. Then, he pulled down his 

Nike shorts and revealed his massive eight inch cock. It was huge.”

“Dude.”

“He looked at me and said, ‘Do you wanna suck this boy?”

“Dude.”

“But then he pulled out a needle and a smack of Tina. 
Said he had to shoot up first before we could play.”

“What?”

“He got needles from the clinic. Said it’s called ‘harm reduction’.”

“Everything is ‘Harm reduction’ nowadays.”

“That skinhead just had to be high on crystal to get off.

“I hate this city.”

“Pass the lighter, will ya?”

“I feel old.”

“I want everyone to sober up.”
“Nobody wants to be sober in this dirty city. It’s too 
painful to be aware.”

“You’re so moody.”
“Capitalism ruins everything.” 

“Why do you always have to make everything so political?”

“I have the heart of a revolutionary.”

“I don’t like living in a city full of big fancy towers and 

junkies on every street corner.”

“I love you.”

“I don’t believe in love. I’m a faggot.”

“Sorry.”

“Okay.”

“Uh huh.”

“Hey? How long have you been clean for?”

“A couple of months.”

“Congrats.”

“Have you found a place to live yet?”

“I’m still on a waitlist.”

“Still? Damn. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s alright.”

“How long has it been?”

“Only a couple of months.”

“Mmmh…”

“I said, it’s alright.”

“Daddy I’m sorry.”

“Bend over, I want to eat that ass of yours mate.”

“No…”

Taro Williams (he/they) is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist and writer raised in the east-end of Tkaronto/Toronto. His work has previously been published in School Schmool(2022, 2023), Ex-Puritan(2024), Auvert Magazine(2024), Moss Puppy Press(2024), the Asian Arts and Cultural Trust(2024), Your Impossible Voice(2024), The Hemlock Journal(2024), Squid Magazine(2024), and Open Fruit (2025).