
NAIL POLISH & CO.
I recently graduated from Bettina to J. Hannah.
I frequently bought the former at two for $5
at Walgreens—the latter my partner just
got me as a Valentine’s Day gift—I’m
not sure how much they really cost
her, but she bought us six, and
each is inspired by works
of art listed on their
website. Eames
and Ghost
Ranch
and Miso, too
—those are just a
few examples. When I
first had my nails painted (my
ex-partner did them for me—spa-
style, too, with a cuticle push and a buff
and both bottom and top coats AND she owned
one of those nail drying machines from
Avon that look like portable video
game consoles and they’re
a mouth with a fan
inside, and I
still wish I
had one
but
alas! my
partner hasn’t
gotten me one yet)
anyway, like a week to
the day after she painted
my nails, Bad Bunny painted
his, and a friend told me, “El Conejo
Malo se copió de ti—te quiere tumbar tu
flow.” And I thought that was cool
but even cooler is my mom
from the very start
digging it
texting me pics of
her nails when she goes
to our local salon, letting me
borrow her cheap, Puerto Rican
drugstore nail polish—especially the basics
(black and white) and the bright
primary colors bordering
on garish, childish
which I love
so much.
Cooler
than anything
is acting queer—being queer—and your
parents acting like they still love
you cuz they actually do.

Gerardo Lamadrid Castillo
is a writer from Caguas, Puerto Rico. They have a BA in English from "Ivy League whorehouse" Vassar College, and are currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at UC Davis. Their poems have most recently been published in Third Iris zine and Manzano Mountain Review. Gerardo is agender and pansexual and postcolonial(ist) and colleagues have half-jokingly described their writing as postmodern(ist).