Poetry from J.J. Campbell

Middle aged white man with a beard standing in a bedroom with posters on the walls
J.J. Campbell
clusterfuck
 
sitting in the dark
 
scribbling poems
by an old flashlight
 
listening to the silence
 
power has been out for
about two hours now
 
this is when you wish
you had a front porch
and something to
smoke in a pipe
 
trying to figure out
what in the pantry
can pass as dinner
tonight
 
good thing mom isn't
on oxygen anymore
 
what a clusterfuck
that would be
------------------------------------------------------------------
the longest line of whatever
 
it is very tempting
to just check out
of this world
 
snort the longest
line of whatever
and hope that the
light is a fucking
train
 
the lousy cards
you were dealt
 
you played as
well as possible
 
old fucks like you
aren't supposed
to be around this
long
 
and sure, there is
always a debt to
be paid to the
demons
 
but you chose to
become their leader
 
a spokesperson
 
a restless soul
defying the
odds
 
until you can't
stand another
day of it
-----------------------------------------------------------
never cool just effective
 
an endless
amount
of paperwork
 
death is
as painful
as living
 
of course,
 
you don't learn
that until it is
much too late
 
life is wasted
on the young
and it has been
that way since
someone decided
that time existed
 
and simple
was never
cool just
effective
 
i checked out
of the rat race
years ago
 
never had the
money to play
those games
anyway
-------------------------------------------------------------------
tearing at the seams
 
chasing death
like tomorrow
may never exist
 
the fabric of the
family tearing at
the seams
 
how could we
ever forget the
rich are never
wrong
 
the old skeletons
start to dance
and all the young
alcoholics already
know what is
waiting for them
on the other side
 
it is a slow trickle
of good news on
a cloudy day
 
the woman of
your dreams
was burned
at the stake
 
imagine those
poems
--------------------------------------------------------------------
maybe these demons
 
five in the morning and the
neon queen dances across
my mind
 
all these miles between us
fade as time seems to stand
still
 
no matter how much i love
you, i can't help but think
disappointment is only a few
seconds away
 
you have a way with your
smile to calm these old nerves
 
and eventually, i'll get out of
my own way
 
hopefully, you'll still be alive
or even fucking interested
 
maybe these demons will finally
let the old fool win one for a
change

J.J. Campbell (1976 – ?) is old enough to know better. He’s been widely published over the years, most recently at Terror House Magazine, The Beatnik Cowboy, Horror Sleaze Trash, Misfit Magazine and Mad Swirl. You can find him most days on his mildly entertaining blog, evil delights. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)