Afterglow Theorem:
Let 1 equal you and 0 equal the void.

0 + 0 = 0
0 - 0 = 0

0 + 1 = 1
1 + 0 = 1
1 - 0 = 1

1 - 1 = 0
0 - 1 = -1

     Q.E.D.



Jazz Warmups:
Tortured yesterday means tortured today
only if you write it.

The more guttural the scream
the more intelligible.

Sam Shepard serving Nina Simone ice cubes
for her scotch: this is my thesis.

Oblivion obscurity christs still air—
everything's a target for revenge.

All heavens are alike
each hell's a hell its own way.

No one notices
a diamond among diamonds.
Splash in some horseshit.



Toro bravo:
I see a pair of ruby lips
I ignite.

My nostrils blast smoke.
I charge.

Hundreds of banderillas
regal me

yet I remain
standing.

Love, please—
if you won’t

deliver the final blow
let me.


Brooks Lindberg lives in the Pacific Northwest. His poems and antipoems appear in various publications. Links to his work can be found at brookslindberg.com.