Author Archives: Delicto

The boy in the alley is like a ghost of last night

Image: Cecilie Harris

He sits like a ghost of last night, knees raw, boots scuffed, a slouch that says he’s seen too much for someone too young to carry it. The alley’s a graveyard of pallets and metal, the air thick with the stale breath of kegs that haven’t been touched since the last fight or fuck. The wall at his back don’t care who he is, and neither does the city — just another boy in borrowed clothes, dragging the hem of his story through concrete and piss. His eyes don’t beg. They dare. As if to say: I’m not lost — I’m choosing to stay gone. Everything here’s worn out —the barrels, the bricks, the boy. But there’s poetry in the ruin, and he knows it. He’s not posing. He’s waiting. For the light to change, for someone to look twice, or maybe just for the silence to settle in enough to sleep.

Stolen Words / Now he feels like some ageing pin-up

Image: Amy Dury

“Now he feels like some ageing pin-up finding a pimply kid masturbating over photos of him as a boy, and peeping lecherously in on those carnal couplings of his youth.” – Separate Rooms – Pier Vittorio Tondelli – Italy – 1989

Seduced by a chav muffin angel with smooth white legs


White Nike socks. Navy blue Hummel shorts and tee-shirt. You’re a chavvy label-obsessed whore. But amidst that hard set defiance, I ponder on why your pale legs are so damn smooth.

Luke could beat me up if he wanted to, but I decided that I liked him

Image: Individual Guiide

Remarkably drunk. Trying to act like I’m not. Failing badly. Anyone with a dick will do. Luke who says he’s from the Manor estate comes and talks to me and is rough as fuck but handsome and eloquent. This straight boy could beat me up in seconds. He asks me if I have a girl at home and I nod. And then he asks me if that girl is really a guy. I change my mind and admit that it’s a guy. He admonishes me and says that I should never be embarrassed for liking guys. 

He goes away and I tell ChatGPT what has just happened and it replies.

“It sounds like you’re in a difficult and potentially unsafe situation. If you feel threatened or at risk, consider reaching out to a trusted friend or contacting a local crisis line for support. If you need to stay awake and alert to complete your task, drinking water, getting some fresh air, and eating something can help clear your head. Would you like me to help you with strategies to appear more sober or to stay focused?”

The King is gone but he’s not forgotten


Long live the King. The King is gone. I was the King but I am done. I had to go because the people didn’t respect the King anymore. The King was unable to control his desires. All those handsome Dukes, Counts, Barons and Earls. Now the King has nothing. The King must eat shit.

The Matchstick Man who doesn’t like the angel

Image: Archer Iñíguez

Matchstick Man doesn’t like the angel and talks to him like shit. “It’s like working with an infant,” he says. Matchstick Man gets jealous quickly. I wonder if he’s feeling insecure and threatened by the angel’s innocence. And he gets angry when I say that the infant might be annoying but is cute. 

Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent


On the way to the bar I see Ed Sheeran busking outside the Town Hall. I take it in my stride because it is nothing compared to having a piss with Johnny Depp.

I think about Johnny Depp when a guy comes and stands next to me. He tells me that his name is Snuky and that his cock ‘reeks of fanny.’ I laugh, but can’t decide if it’s because he’s called Snuky, or because of what he’s just told me. He looks offended and says, ‘smell it if you don’t believe me.’ 

That Moment / I didn’t want to hurt you, but I’m just a jealous guy

Image: Archer Iñíguez

It’s four in the morning and the world is bleary. I’ve gone past the point where I think I look good because I know that I’m wrecked. Sam is dancing with everyone. He jumps and waves his arms in front of anyone who’ll let him, and they are pleased that he does so, because he’s a good looking guy with a wonderful smile. There are snatches of conversation with girls who flirt with him and then he moves onto somebody else. Boundless energy. 

I hate it that Sam is enjoying himself and I wish that he’d dance with me. But he comes nowhere near. Dan comes over and puts his arm around me. His sweat reminds me of greasy chips and vinegar on Southend Pier.  I tell him to fuck off because I’d rather watch Sam dancing. 

Eight pints of Madri have stirred up something inside me. I have no right to love but I ignore the warning signs. A toxic mixture that will bubble into jealousy, self pity and violent anger. Soon I will explode and do something bad, and I won’t know how to stop it.

Reese with an S / The haze of an infatuation


Cocky. Never have I met anybody so cocky. Thick, as in stupid. Never have I met anybody so thick. A girl flirted with him, and he gave no response. “I had no idea,” he said afterwards. “I was completely obnoxious.” The word he was looking for was oblivious. But Reese with an ‘S’ grows on me each time I see him. The third time I’ve fallen in love. The fourth time he says that he’s never met me before. But he still gives me a smile and a kiss on the cheek. The scent is enchanting. I’m hopelessly infatuated but he probably sees me as a father figure, and not an object of desire.

On this occasion I’m prepared to make an exception

Image: Winter Garden / PHG / 2025

I sat in the shade of the Winter Garden and was approached by a cool looking ginger-haired guy dressed in shorts and t-shirt. “Excuse me sir, I don’t know the city. Where is the best place to get the vibe?” I’d no idea where he could get the “vibe” and, as a rule, don’t do ginger, but on this occasion I was prepared to make an exception. Polite, handsome and seemingly likely to take one for the boys. He turned out to be a touring ballet dancer.