The Empathy Protocol
Jack restrained Walter to a stainless-steel chair, ropes tied taut, and a gag in his mouth. Thumbing through a dossier of medical and police reports,…
“Ketchup” and “Not Good Enough”
ketchup one of the first counsellors I saw told me that he dated a page 3 girl / he got frustrated with my apparent lack of progress / told me that…
Of Beehives and Barlight
The neon sign was broken. It blinked "A," then "R," then a long pause. The steel door creaked as he pushed through it. Inside, it was dry, but too…
Fuck Me Like You’re Joe Biden
She asked me to pretend to be Joe Biden. A few months ago it was Bernie, but today is Inauguration Day. It was basically the same old man shtick,…
The Maid and the Maidens
I scoured the classifieds, circling the only job I was qualified for: JANITOR WANTED, apply in person. It gave the address and nothing else. I fired…
School Sucks
“Out!” Miss Keene was pissed. Robbie had told one joke too many; now he dragged his ass out into the hall, where he was to spend the remainder of…
“Poem for Bearded Wizard 231,” “After Listening to an Interview with Amy King in Which She Read Her Poem ‘Wings of Desire’ and Nearly Sprained Her Arm Patting Herself on the Back,” “A Poem Written by a Cranky Old Fart,” and Other Poems
Poem for Bearded Wizard 231 For a shadow-being, it’s bizarre how you know everything about everything proselytizing to social media’s lower orders…
“Ode to Timbuktu,” “Classical Allusions,” and “Lightning Strikes Twice”
Ode to Timbuktu If only our youth were engrossed with Prokofiev and Buddhism, as were Ezra Pound and his pals back in the day; if only the young…
Erotic Cake Alone; or, One Fat Man’s Rock Bottom
“Rock bottom” is a phrase usually applied to alcoholism and describes the point at which one recognizes they have no choice but to get sober or die.…
Three Autobiographical Poems
Apartment Near the BQE (After Edward Hopper) Light coffee, mostly cream Sun slanting through the screen I fell asleep again Just after you had left…
