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Poetry

consumed

by Ash Vale

Published in Nightmare Magazine, Issue 164 (May 2026) | 301 words
© 2026 by Ash Vale.

CW: violence, cannibalism, bodily harm, gender dysphoria.

my lover has peculiar tastes;
her cravings are unnatural.
she apologises for her appetite
for it is monstrous and unbounded.

how am I to tell her to stop
when my experience of being loved as a woman is being
consumed?

others have supped on my dignity
my resistance
my humanity
cherished each vestigial organ on the tongue, a delicacy.
what difference is it to me, then
if she tucks into me with relish?

after all,
she only eats
the parts
I wont miss.
eyelashes. hips. breasts.

memories.
unease.

contrition.

she swallows the temptations of my body,
ushers them away with her spit and salvation.

I dwell on the consequences:
what if after she eats the bad,
there is nothing left?
she smiles and pats her stomach
engorged, now, bloated with my surrender

chewing,
chewing,

chewing.

if she eats what makes me a woman
then may she devour it all
and savour the bite
for finally
I am

free.

Author’s note:
I’ve sometimes daydreamed that body modification and gender euphoria were as easy as popping pieces off a doll; daydreamed about what terrible things might happen to my body that would make me feel justified in altering it to my own specifications and desires. This piece and its monster are an externalization of dysphoria, but she’ll fix everything by eating it. The consequences, of course, are not hers to own.

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Ash Vale

Ash Vale (they/them) is a queer, non-binary Canadian writer who has an affinity for teeth and weird little guys in the woods. Their short fiction and poetry has been or will soon be published in places like Uncharted, PseudoPod, If There’s Anyone Left, and more. They’re also one of the co-founders of Otherside Spec, a queer-led speculative fiction magazine for 2SLGBTQIA+ authors, poets, and artists. Their stories and monthly newsletter can be found at ash-vale.ca.