Friday, April 10, 2020

stuck in constant fear
 
another day in isolation,
escaping a world stuck
in constant fear
 
a 24/7 news cycle on overdrive
 
pour one out for the gambler
 
the voice of my youth that taught
a young boy all he ever needed
to know about poker
 
it feels like this is as good a time
as any to collect on the old debts
 
let that elusive angel out west
know i could never love another
 
and just like a crisp wind
 
disappear into the ethereal realm
of the lost world we were promised
as children

J.J. Campbell
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
one way or another
 
the neon queen nailed me to a cross
one friday night outside of reno, nevada
 
i never asked why, i figured i earned it
one way or another
 
i could hear her laughter as she drove
off into the early morning sun
 
eventually, the birds would peck out
my eyes until some future racist decided
to set the cross on fire
 
thankfully, i never believed in the need
for a resurrection
 
my shift was finally over

J.J. Campbell
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
old man winter
 
these old bones
can feel old man
winter starting
up his engine
 
i remember as
a child how i
loved snow
days
 
sledding down
the little hill in
our front yard
 
but then i always
had to shovel
 
every inch of
the sidewalks
and the driveway
 
my father would
check and punish
me when i didn't
do it correctly
 
even after the
divorce and his
death
 
winter has never
been the same
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
under the legal age
 
parents get nervous
when they see me
around their children
 
that makes me laugh
 
i have no interest
in anyone under
the legal age
 
people that look
like me go to jail
for those thoughts
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
J.J. Campbell

Helpless I do not know if good intentions prevail among the elected, among the appointed, leaving me apprehensive that the fate ...