——————————————————————————-
dying like elvis
took a shit so large this morning
i could feel my blood sugar drop
it made me laugh, reaffirm my
fears of dying like elvis
but with none of the money
or big house
had a friend wish that my poems
would make me a millionaire
i thanked her and told her i would
gladly take a fraction of that and
winning lottery numbers
and here come the holidays
here comes the depression
here comes the urge to drink
the entire bar dry
why couldn’t we evolve from
creatures that hibernated in
the winter
certainly would make christmas
easier to handle
just a thought on a random
monday
the week of thanksgiving
another test of what little
patience i have left
————————————————————————
with no soul
and you wake up from
a fever dream of a boy
who never meets the
girl yet the girl lives
happily ever after
a couple splashes of
cold water and you
know that boy is you
coming up on half
a century
still lining the walls
with loneliness
pretend someone cares
someone will save you
from yourself
in a world with no soul
no time for anyone other
than the precious mirror
torture is the morning
sun
a bird singing a song
joy on the children
down the street
your father warned
you
you were never special
and should never think
like it was even possible
sharpen the knives
still time to make
the evening news
—————————————————————-
the machines
searching for humanity
in a world that has fully
embraced the machines
before long, the humans
will be the machines
and then all hope will
be lost
somewhere, all those
science fiction writers
of my youth are asking
yet again…
still think i’m fucking
crazy?
————————————————————————-
two weeks before thanksgiving
had to drive to the store to get my pills last night
there was a number of houses with christmas
lights up already
two weeks before thanksgiving
assholes
mom is insisting the whole family gets together
this year for thanksgiving
while i’m secretly hoping she has some evil plan
to kill all of us
i think it is simply a punishment for me
but, i have never shied away from proudly
being the black sheep of the family
i’ll make a plate, place some bets, go to
my room and be by myself
punishments never worked when i was a child
they won’t work while i’m an adult either
the day after thanksgiving
i’ll put up our decorations outside
three wreaths around the three outdoor lights
which eventually will become nests for birds
that get heat from those lights at night
——————————————————————————-
figure out the truth
i haven’t shaved in weeks
the little girl that stays next
door with grandma tells all
her friends that grandma lives
next door to santa claus
it takes everything i have not
to break that little girl’s heart
but i figure, she will figure
out the truth soon enough
there’s a skeleton in the yard
across the street
i swear, when i look out
at night it is giving me
the finger
i guess the booze is working
not sleeping well yet again
i’m hoping to find a new
dealer
someone that has a decent
heart and will accept books
or baseball cards for something
that isn’t tainted with something
that will kill me
that’s for the next decade
https://evildelights.blogspot.com
J.J. Campbell (1976 – ?) is old enough to know better. He’s been widely published over the years, most recently at The Beatnik Cowboy, Crossroads Magazine, Disturb the Universe Magazine, The Rye Whiskey Review and Misfit Magazine. You can find him most days at his home in Ohio, taking care of his disabled mother and trying to hit another crazy 20 team parlay. He still has a blog, evil delights, although he rarely has the time to write on it. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)