GAS Featured Poet: Jack Henry

"bio: jck hnry is a queer writer living a semi-normative life in the high desert of SE California. recent works have appeared at terror house magazine, ariel chart, raven cage, lucifer's retreat, beatnik cowboy, and others. in 2021 his latest collection, driving w/crazy, was released by PUNK HOSTAGE PRESS. for more please go to jackhenry.wordpress.com."

search 

trolling my past 

for remnants of life 

 

little bits glued together 

forming an ether of memory 

 

rooms filled w/broken glass & 

spent typewriter ribbon 

 

old words taped to a broken-down refrigerator 

the milk is spoilt, ice cream melted & 

 

palm trees outside my window 

burned completely to the ground 

jasper county mall 

once bright 

now downtrodden 

brilliant stars 

faded to feint memory 

a girl pleads 

with a boy 

not to go 

to Ohio 

but he leaves 

in hopes 

of something 

more 

than empty 

parking lots 

and going out 

of business  

sales 

politics 

democrats stand  

behind paper 

partitions 

bemoaning 

the state of the union 

while the fellas 

on the other side 

of the aisle 

load shotguns 

and take aim 

 

their mouths 

fill 

w/peanut butter 

and the shoes 

that used to fit 

so well 

are shrunken 

down to the  

former glory 

of our unknown  

selves