—————————————————————————————-

a revolution

sit on the back

porch in the

drizzle, end

of summer

listen to the

crickets plot

a revolution

your father once

told you dreams

were useless

hard work was

the only way

to get ahead

kind of ironic,

since that fucker

didn’t believe in

hard work either

he just wanted to

beat it into your

soul so he could

think of himself

as a good father

yet another thing

he failed at

still think about

cigarettes and a

glass of scotch

watching the cat

kill a mouse and

bring it to you

for a reward

————————————————————–

the mystery meat

never trust a skinny

chef

a nail shop that has

no koreans working

or the mystery meat in

any sandwich for lunch

and you wonder why so

many people fail gambling

on baseball

testing the limits on sanity

watching my mother’s health

fail a little more each day

i tell her it is probably better

she dies before democracy

does

and the young still want

to get married

and the rest of us only see

the cliff and an endless

fall ahead

just fucking jump

——————————————————————-

slipping into the abyss

i thought i would

let out a loud

collective fuck

before we are

never allowed

to do it again

slipping into the

abyss of scrambling

underground like

the cockroaches

they all think

we are

say goodbye to the

freedom of speech

and hello to the

consequences of

speech they don’t

approve of

fuck fuck fuck

i never was any

good at conformity

and was always

fucking proud

of that

the twilight is here

i ain’t fucking

changing now

——————————————————————————

volunteer

the only job

i seem to be

qualified for

is volunteer

hell,

i remember

back in 1988,

i was 12

years old

and told

my mom

and dad

i was going

to mow lawns

over the summer

to make some

money

there was a

drought that

year

i mowed one

lawn

never got

paid for it

so yes,

volunteer

i guess it is

———————————————————————

if she only knew

breathless beauty

but always just

out of reach

always her choice

by the way

if she only knew

what could have

been

two worlds that

are completely

different

colliding into

a beautiful

kaleidoscope

of wonder

sexual tension

for years to spare

but the comfort

of endless miles

between means

there is never

the need to take

a chance

and just like that

a moment in time

lost in whatever

like so many damn

times before

J.J. Campbell (1976 – ?) is old enough to know better. He’s been nominated three times for Best of the Net and once for the Pushcart Prize. He’s been published for over 30 years now, most recently at Disturb the Universe Magazine, The Beatnik Cowboy, The Rye Whiskey Review, Misfit Magazine and Mad Swirl. His latest chapbook, to live your dreams, will hopefully be out before 2025 ends. He has a blog but rarely has the time to write on it anymore. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)