Saturday, November 25, 2023

Four Poems by J.J Campbell

The Apartments Behind Us

 

a loud boom in the 

middle of the night

 

go check and see if 

your mother is still 

in bed

 

i checked there and 

she was snoring under 

three blankets

 

i went to the kitchen 

and everything looked 

like it did when i went 

to bed thirty minutes 

ago

 

probably the apartments 

behind us

 

kids blowing up shit 

in the dumpster again

 

or the adults destroying 

shit before the cops 

show up

 

 

Most of Humanity

 

here come the holidays

 

never easy for those of us

that dislike most of humanity

 

thanksgiving is a quiet meal 

alone while watching football

 

and putting up the charlie brown 

christmas tree

 

no one ever said i couldn’t enjoy

my own kind of festive glee

 

turn on the lights that have been 

up since last christmas

 

and you wonder why there isn’t

a woman in the picture

 

 

Watching from the Corner

 

she had the eyes 

of some beautiful 

ancient creature

 

the kind that jim 

morrison would 

write poem after 

poem about

 

she saunters through 

the room, cigarette 

dangling, bottle of 

whiskey by her side

 

i was watching 

from the corner, 

as usual

 

made eye contact 

with this dream

and soon the bottle 

was empty

 

it was an old song 

from bowie that 

got us talking about 

all the memories of 

the club drugs back 

in the day

 

her lips tasted 

like regret

 

still asleep in my bed, 

left ass cheek poking 

out for some sun

 

 

Wallowing in the Facts

 

watching the fools 

dancing in the rain 

 

never remembering 

any time in my life

i was ever that free

 

i’m not seeking pity

only wallowing in 

the facts

 

the thing about 

loneliness is when

a bottle becomes 

a friend

 

a needle is 

a lost lover

 

the shotgun in 

the corner starts 

whispering sweet 

nothings in your 

ear

 

when those are 

the only friends 

you have the end 

is nothing more 

than that

 

no tears

 

no remorse

 

no need for feelings

 

just sweet relief



Bio: J.J Campbell (1976-?) is trapped in the suburbs wondering where all the lonely housewives went. He's been widely published over the years, most recently at The Beatnik Cowboy, Horror Sleaze Trash, Synchronized Chaos, Disturb the Universe Magazine and The Rye Whiskey Review. You can find him most days on his mildly entertaining blog, Evil Delights

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