sadness becomes loneliness
 

it's the

laugh,

 

the gentle

i love you

late at night,

 

the warm

embrace

 

and suddenly

remembering

how many years

it's actually been

 

how the touch

of a woman is

nearly foreign

to you now

 

hopeless should

never come up

when you think

about sex

 

sadness becomes

loneliness before

you even realize

 

the world has

left you behind
--------------------------------------------------------------
start the weekend
 

a

thunderstorm

before the

morning

coffee

 

not exactly

how i wanted

to start the

weekend

 

but you're

old enough

now to know

you don't get

to choose such

things

 

your place in

life doesn't

allow it
--------------------------------------------------------
two vapid souls
 

shuffling down

the boulevard

a skeleton of

a man

 

thinning goatee

and hollow eyes

 

holding hands

with his woman

 

a soul crushing

blonde light years

out of his league

 

most assume there

are two reasons

why she is with

him

 

girth and wealth

 

most assumptions

are true more than

we actually realize

 

two vapid souls

searching for a

better tomorrow

 

if such a thing

even still fucking

exists
---------------------------------------------------------
a zombie apocalypse
 

the muse believes

she can't trust me

during a zombie

apocalypse

 

that makes me

laugh

 

she apparently

doesn't understand

that i will be dead

before any of that

ever happens

 

zombies, an apocalypse,

or a glorious heel turn

 

more pressing matters

are at hand as usual

 

like rent, taxes, a check

engine light that always

seems to come on at the

least opportune times

 

not to even mention

where one might be

able to find some

non-toxic land to

grow food or

whatever else
---------------------------------------------------------------------
a soft rain in the sunshine
 

two loose shits

within five minutes

of waking up

 

jack daniels for

dinner strikes

again

 

a stray cat comes

to our backyard

looking for birds

or some food

 

luck never appears

in this damn town

 

a soft rain in the

sunshine

 

a lonely woman

wonders of a better

way to die

 

here comes a daydream

meant for a better soul

 

the cocaine always runs

out on a tuesday night

 

right as she starts to feel

ok with doing it for money

once again
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

J.J. Campbell (1976 - ?) is old enough to know better. He's been widely published over the years, most recently at Disturb the Universe Magazine, The Beatnik Cowboy, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Black Coffee Review and The Asylum Floor. Rumor has it that he might have a joint chapbook coming out this summer with Casey Renee Kiser. You can find him most days on his mildly entertaining blog, evil delights. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)