a purple sadness
 
it's the last whispers
you make out before
the collapse
 
flashing lights and
the torture of the
unknown
 
a purple sadness
envelopes you and
you wish you would
have saved a line
or two for tomorrow
 
as if that is something
anyone adequately
plans for
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
on these rainy days
 
there's an ache
at the base of
my neck that
is agonizing
on these rainy
days
 
eventually
 
the pain will
either fade or
spread
 
i figure one
of these days
 
it won't ever
stop
 
then we'll
see how
easily
i find the
pleasure
in the pain
----------------------------------------------------------------------
i called his bluff
 
i had a doctor
tell me if i
didn't stop
drinking i
would be
dead soon
 
i called his
bluff
 
ten years later
i have a new
doctor that
sighs and
tells me
it's your
life
 
if you want
to drink
yourself
to death
 
just make sure
you use the
good shit
 
no reason to
go out drinking
piss
----------------------------------------------------------------------
relaxes with a cold drink
 
there's this loneliness
that dwells in me, is
comfortable,
 
kicks its feet up on
the couch, relaxes
with a cold drink
and a ball game on
the television
 
i've been trying to
kill that fucker for
years now
 
sadly, the asshole is
as elusive as he is
stubborn
 
on the nights when
i am drinking until
three or four in the
morning
 
we debate the horrors
of dating in this century
and how much does
arthritis dampen the
fun of masturbation
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
dead relatives
 
around three each morning
or night, depending on
whatever your sleep
schedule might be
 
my mother starts
talking in her sleep
 
loud enough to wake
me up in the next room
 
it is usually a dead
relative she is talking
to
 
i'm sure one day,
the dead relatives
will talk back
 
then it will become
a show
 
now, it is just the
frustration of an
old man that can't
fall asleep
 
the race to death is on
 
i don't think my mother
knows just how quickly
i'm gaining on her

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