Third Wall Thoughts

A comment to a friend on my Patreon: You know, I didn't even think twice about you finding this hilarious ("this" being a New York headline I'd shared and he'd responded to that was hilarious, if darkly, followed by him expressing remorse for enjoying macabre humor). In reflecting last night, this feeling of needing to self "correct" is exactly why I've been posting more opinionated or (gasp) provocative prose behind this Patreon curtain and not out on the wider internet, at least until I figure out what kind of manuscript to put out there.

I am tired of the way so many Americans read everything through some negative lens or another, judging spontaneous yet innocuous, if imperfect (duh), reactions people have to complex issues as some sort of moral litmus test, which is, you know, not moral. 

Think of all the people you know who never post anything "political" lest they offend someone, an employer; that's a lot of people and another part of this problem.

I have to say even as someone with a thick skin, I have felt inhibited, including when I'm not being made invisible by algorithms. I do notice I have far fewer inhibitions about the poetry I post on my blog versus the prose...

Poetics of Electrocution

Last night I dreamt that I rigged a neighbor’s door
to electrocute him when he opened it, with
the help of my first boyfriend, which I guess is why
the neighbor lived in my parents’ attic. Based on
the screams
emanating from the other side of the attic door,
the plan was a success.

Sunset Walks

The Odometer Is Slipping

Termination:
The odometer is slipping
back over the miles
I have already suffered,
apocalypse: base recovered —

I am losing
momentum
ground
air

There’s lipstick on my teeth
and mascara in my hair