——————————————————————————

up from the floor

i wanna leave

most of my

memories

in the ocean,

somewhere away

from the plastic

in tedious moments,

i bite my nails and

wonder why i didn’t

die when i was young

this woman swears

she loves me

won’t give me her

address or any hope

that this is something

more than real

we’ll probably be

married in a year

why does all the

crazy shit with death

happen in minnesota

you try helping your

disabled mother up

from the floor with

a bad back

these are the nights

drugs were invented

for

piss stained pants

in the wash

a night nurse telling

war stories in the

living room

scribbling madness

on paper is child’s

play

—————————————————-

the latest year of death

a few snowflakes

in the cold sunshine

the last few days of

the latest year of death

can masturbation cause

carpal tunnel

four out of five dentists

agree

of course, some beautiful

woman wants to save you

as long as you are willing

to become the man she

changes you into

why resist, where has this

perfect creature got you

still think toiling away

in obscurity is noble,

makes you cool or

something even better

not often someone brags

about being a better piece

of shit

sure, there may be gold

in that turd but no one

ever wants to give it

a taste

rejoice, the end is near

a new beginning if you

truly want it to be

but that is just some

mumbo jumbo out of

some self help book

written long before you

were a stain in the sheets

———————————————-

die alone

pretend we are

the only souls

left

your soft skin

resting on what

is left of me

seventeen years

is one hell of

a gap

but you brighten

this darkness

let me know

that the light

isn’t always

a train

one day it will

be your chance

to prove to the

world you were

always what i

was missing

it’s not a test

but a plea for

help

not that i’m

afraid to die

alone

just don’t

want to

that subtle difference

doesn’t mean shit to

many, but hopefully

just enough to whom

it is meant for

——————————————————–

i mumbled something

a strapless neon dress

and all the reasons i

never liked going to

strip clubs

sitting at the bar,

just drinking

the bartender asked

what i was looking

for tonight

i mumbled something

i’ll never find here

she realized it was

a lost cause

never got a lap dance

though i did buy my

buddy one

he liked this smoking

hot black chick and i

never minded someone

else having a good time

looking back on it

i still can’t figure out

how these twenty plus

years have flown by

so damn fast

the tornado hit that

strip club years ago

i suppose they had

different dancers

by then

——————————————————

nothing but sunday drivers

an uncomfortable

silence in the rain

a two lane road

in the sticks

of course, nothing

but sunday drivers

on a thursday

afternoon

it’s a lonely glass

of scotch and the

memory of an old

lover that died

years ago

your life has become

the lyrics of the songs

you grew up on

too bad the songs

about death are the

only ones you can

remember all the

lyrics to

the subtle embrace

of your last hope

she has no clue to

the misery she has

stepped into

and while that baggage

will never be hers to

deal with

she will gladly accept

the challenge

accept what little

faith is still left

J.J. Campbell (1976 – ?) is trapped in suburbia, sadly accepting his fate. He’s been widely published over the last 30 years, most recently at Night Owl Narrative, Disturb the Universe Magazine, The Beatnik Cowboy, Crossroads Magazine and The Rye Whiskey Review. His latest book, to live your dreams, has been published by Whiskey City Press and is available on Amazon.com (please buy a copy or two). He still has his blog, although taking care of his disabled mother takes up the majority of his time. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)

x3

Nostalgia sets in, & I lose my

teeth. More benefit than hind-

erance — stops me chewing

over un temps perdu that has 

little to make it worth revisiting.

Nostalgia sets in, & I lose my

internet connection. Maybe I

shouldn’t be piggybacking into

the ether on my neighbor’s wifi.

Nostalgia sets in, & I lose my

canteloupes. Not immediately;

but before the melon harvest 

can get underway, gargoyles 

that have torn themselves away

from cathedral roofs flock down

to feast, leave nothing behind.

Random / noises from / the vowel house

According to onlookers, I’d

dodged a bullet. But I’ve been

deep into word puzzles of

late, & couldn’t let that pass

by without questioning how it

parsed. “Do you mean I may

have dodged a ballet since I

didn’t go into the city with my

partner last night? Or maybe

didn’t spend that same time

watching a belly dancer or that

comedian who provokes belly

laughs in his audience? Or,

more precisely, perhaps no 

one offered me a glass of Bellet 

wine or took me for a drive in 

their old Isuzu Bellet? Then 

again, nobody offered me an

overnight billet, or gazed at me 

& sent me billets-doux, or in-

vited me to go & see that 

French pop group that’s app-

arently quite popular these 

days.  Have I left anything 

out?” I get blank looks, so re-

mind them that bollets are

another word for a type of

mushroom, & that it’s now

dinner time, & I’ve prattled on

for so long they’re probably

wishing that the projectile had

hit the mark & stopped me 

carrying on like a bull at a gate.

XXL Largo

(A Tom Beckett Title)

Now that the wet season

has arrived, I go surfing

before I go surfing, hoping

to find some johnnie O 

swim shorts in an extra

extra large size which also

have some length to them.

eBay offers me a pair for $89,

described as having a Conch 

Floral design, lined, & with 

a drawstring. The Adidas 

equivalent at Amazon also 

has a drawstring, is in a Rip-

stop 100% recycled polyester 

but is currently out of stock. 

In the same breath — or at

least on the same page — Ali-

baba.com, under the sub-cat-

gories of Sex Toys / Dildos,

has a Ready to Ship Big XXL 

Largo Penis Enlargement 

Cream with a 2-year shelf 

life. Sterilization, cleaning, & 

a free sample are included. They

say they support private labels

& can manufacture to a custom-

er’s own design (OEM) or relabel

Alibaba products (ODM). It

also is currently unavailable.

Still surfing, I find I can buy a 

Ralph Lauren Polo sweater — 

Talle XXL, Largo 80cm, Ancho 

70cm — for a mere $33,000; or,

at the other end of the scale, an 

XXL long custom “stromboli” 

mousepad with a list price of 

€44.00. If that was what the

sweater cost I might be inter-

ested; but most everything I’ve

seen so far seems to have little

to do with surfing, or is out of

stock, or is way too expensive.

Time to stop; so a last entering

of the search term. I goof, leave

off the size’s L, so, when I enter,

Chopin & YouTube are every-

where. 24 Preludes, Op. 28: XX. 

No. 20 in C Minor (Largo). It’s a

nice piece, so I sit back & enjoy.

escalator elephants

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Australian Labor Government’s new AI plan puts faith in self-regulation.

‘Good decision.’ Trump hails controversial health plan as an advisory panel appointed by Trump’s vaccine-skeptic health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voted to end a decades-old health recommendation affecting newborns.
“Vanity Fair” and Olivia Nuzzi announced Friday that they have agreed to go their separate ways following a flood of new revelations about her romantic relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including allegations of journalistic ethics breaches.

Trump family is inflicting a new kind of Saudi-style ‘royalism’ on the US.
Arrests as apple crumble, custard thrown at UK crown jewels.

Anger as National Parks grant free access on Trump’s birthday — & end it for MLK day.
NATO state to declare state of emergency next week, Lithuanian PM says.

Late to the Second Coming

Irreverential, blasphemous

silence;

profane void, 

absence of Presence.

Shallow, knee-shaped

dimples, slowly

disappearing from the

hassock before coagulating wine.

Sanctuary air,

not stale; 

trace symphony of

pheromonic Bachian notes.

Wafer white

quartered-halves;

bread of life crumbs

trailing the Way?

Multi-hued tendrils

caressing the 

onion-thin parchment;

celestially highlighting

1 Thessalonians 4:17.

Stole-draped,

cross-adorned

pulpit.

“Eli, Eli

lama sabachthani.”

The nighttime thief 

has come;

revelation dawns…

A fool in want of oil.

In Your Eyes

Different colors of red I paint on your lips with mine

and one soul has always been shared between us

You have walked every step with me in this life

And we will continue together through eternity

No other hand will ever touch my skin

And no other heart will ever beat with mine

In your eyes I’ve seen the glow of the moon at night

and the beauty of the golden sun at dawn

There has never been anyone who can compare

to the heart which holds all the love within me.

Look upon me as you always have…

Like a thief waiting to steal a precious treasure from within me.

Long Ago I Wrote a Love Poem

Long Ago, I wrote a love poem

that filled the pages of my heart

I never said who I was writing it for

I don’t think I even knew at first

Then I found that something was missing

with each love poem I tried to write

Every poem I had written with you came easily

but without your lines, they felt incomplete

I watched others try to finish your poems

I never spoke a word of discouragement

But in my heart I knew the reason

and now, I think you do too

No one can finish your poem but me

because we write as one person together

And the same goes for my poems without you.

A bond that has always baffled us both

now makes perfect sense… 

Our Colorful Dream 

I have had more intimate conversations with you

looking into your eyes in silence than speaking.

Life was so empty until you appeared one day

as a result of a prayer I prayed in sadness.

You now bring the sun into my once dark life

and have transformed my hues from black to gold.

You became the knight in my once woeful tale

and I long to stay the beautiful dream in your realm.

I have watched our love grow so strong over time

that no evil could ever penetrate our colorful dream. 

You are the love story who became my reality.

Kristy Ann Raines is an American poet and author born in Oakland California, in the United States of America. She is an accomplished Global Poet and Writer who has written and published three books.

* “The Passion Within”, by Kristy Raines

* “I Cross my Heart from East to West”, by Kristy Raines and Dr. Prasana Kumar Dalai

* “Echoes Across the Oceans”, by Kristy Raines and Nasser Alshaikhahmed

Kristy is right now writing a few children’s books, which will be released sometime this year.

Mother earth

The earth whispers to the universe ''don't hurt me ''.
With trees, barks, waves and sunshine bearing witness.
It pleaded in soothing, calm voice.
Yet the universe take charge, it was offended by the comment.
It says '' I'm not hurting you I'm saving you''.
Oh that's an irony!

How could you be claiming to save her when you are busy taking what she loves an cherishes the most.
When her first child the soil loses purpose by you burning it, 
' we are looking for treasure' a biased point you always try to make.
When the rock is suffering from your excavations, yes there's a fortune there.
When bloods shatters and run down the water banks, and your waste moves faster than the waves.
When you were busy cutting trees, it tears thicker than the gums you use to hold things together.
When it confident was hitted in the ass
It courage is melting like a magma
It looses it comfort at your mercy—holding your feets begging for survival
Her pride was like that of a dust
Your ego was boosted what a macho man you are.
You didn't just hurt her, you destroy her.
Just like a horny dog wanting to have a taste of the honeypot ey


She cried she pleaded till the tears dried like an abandoned pond.
Like that lake that now resembles valley,  like a godforsaken shrine
And now when she takes charge, punishing you for your crime.
You started playing victim's card—what a manipulator you are.
You worried when rain doesn't drop, blaming it on her
When it was your flames and fire that stopped it.
You cry when the temperature rises to 44 with no trees to seek refuge to.
We chant an anthem of climate action every day but we ignored it
We raise actions on plant trees while the ones in our neighborhood are dying 
When our land have become barren and no drop-not a single drop of water can make it alive nor fertile.
Then we are busy playing hunger games, with zero point or a merit to win.

When you start running after her family asking for forgiveness, they said '' No there's a fortune there, go eat it'' 
Then now you remember that '' you can't eat your cake and have it''.
Crying won't solve any problems you have, you created it so you have to pay for it.

It's high time we start been intentional with what we do and say.
We can't be hiding behind the screen saying we'd change the world when we can't change ourselves and the way we think.
We can't be climate change activist when waste flooded our homes.
Our rooms smells like garbage 
Our drainage have to turned to refuse
Change starts from me, so let it rises from here 
Let's stand up and take action in our hands,
Let's start building a greener environment 
Let's dispose our waste properly 
 then may be may be the earth will heed to our calls
And the climate will be friendly to us all

Khadija Ismail is a student of Medical lab science, a Hausa novelist, writer, poet, essayist and content writer. Her works centres on society and romance, she uses words to address issues like GBV, Mental and public health. She is the writer of Nisfu Deeniy and Wani rabo. Her work will be published in Yanar gizo anthology.

You can connect with her on Facebook as Khadija Bint Ismail and Deejasmah Writer on Instagram and Tiktok.

THE COURAGE TO LOVE

Eva suffered many misfortunes in her childhood. She endured even more discrimination and humiliation. She channeled that hatred into fuel, throwing herself into her studies.

Eva consistently ranked first in her class, earned scholarships through graduate school, and landed a job at a top-tier company. But that’s where she stumbled. She couldn’t keep up with the workplace relationships. After much turmoil, she quit the company.

Eva had become distrustful of people. She enrolled in nursing school and became a nurse. She ended up working on a cancer ward.

But physical labor didn’t suit Eva, and she couldn’t bear the bullying from her colleagues at work. She fought desperately against the urge to cling to someone. She was also exhausted by the constant stream of patients being wheeled in, only to die.

One day, Eva heard the words of a dying patient. Before passing, they invariably confessed their sins and expressed gratitude to many people. There were no exceptions. Knowing this, she found the courage to love.

Eva learned the strength of the power to love and the weakness of the power to hate. Eva realized that most people in the world did not know this. She came to know that humans are born only to die. Eva succeeded in living, loving others without hating them. And Eva is everywhere, living with a smile on her face at all times.

1998 Rekitei Shinei Award winner in Japan. 2021 Arab Golden Planet Award winner in 2022, Awarded the title of Doctor of Letters from the Arabic-speaking world in 2023 My poems are published in Orfew.al magazine in Albania. Also translated into Italian in 2024 My poem is published in the Daily Global Nation in Bangladesh. My poems published in Samantaral Bhabna, India. Interview with an Algerian newspaper is published. My poem is published in Greek Police Magazine. Received a certificate of honor from English poets. Published in a Korean magazine. Published in Koltaka jishu International Poetry Magazine, India. My poem is published in a Greek e-magazine. My poem is published in the Barcelona Literary Magazine. My poem is published in Poetry Planetariat, a Nepalese poetry magazine. My poetry collection is published in Bengali-speaking countries. Three of my poems were published in India’s Half-yearly magazine. Three of my poems were published in the Raft of Dreams Literary Magazine. My poem is published in Hyperpoem Anthology, founded by Alexander Kabishev from Russia.