Poetry — Issue One
More Felicitous
Never forgetting: you come
from a long line of beautiful
resilient people, each direct
ancestor fuckable to some degree,
surviving long enough at least
to make your tough sexy ass
from a long line of beautiful
resilient people, each direct
ancestor fuckable to some degree,
surviving long enough at least
to make your tough sexy ass
Rejecting all unnecessary
emotional labor; relinquishing
what you never had
control of in the first place
emotional labor; relinquishing
what you never had
control of in the first place
Refusing attempts to calculate,
formulate or even estimate
with any measure of accuracy
the impossibly complex algorithm
gauging the weight of one
soul’s fortune or suffering
formulate or even estimate
with any measure of accuracy
the impossibly complex algorithm
gauging the weight of one
soul’s fortune or suffering
Asking not what your country can
do for you, because you can
not afford your own lobbyists
do for you, because you can
not afford your own lobbyists
Engaging with the discourse
like Elaine on Seinfeld,
that time she had to run
into Jerry’s fumigated apartment:
get in, scramble for what you need,
get the hell out before the poison gets you
like Elaine on Seinfeld,
that time she had to run
into Jerry’s fumigated apartment:
get in, scramble for what you need,
get the hell out before the poison gets you
Eating not until “full” but only
until “no longer hungry,”
drinking not until “drunk” but only
until “no longer on verge of meltdown”
until “no longer hungry,”
drinking not until “drunk” but only
until “no longer on verge of meltdown”
Resisting urges to bludgeon
skulls of inconsiderate
passersby with wiffle ball bats,
communicating displeasure instead
through pouty head-shakes and downturned thumbs
skulls of inconsiderate
passersby with wiffle ball bats,
communicating displeasure instead
through pouty head-shakes and downturned thumbs
Meditating at least 10 minutes a day;
should this prove impractical,
meditating at least 6 hours a day
should this prove impractical,
meditating at least 6 hours a day
Watching and rewatching
I Think You Should Leave
until each vignette makes you cry
from laughter, then watching again
I Think You Should Leave
until each vignette makes you cry
from laughter, then watching again
Rereading old science fiction, marvelling
how laughably / alarmingly wrong / right
their haphazard prophecies got us
how laughably / alarmingly wrong / right
their haphazard prophecies got us
Listening to songs from years
you want to relive, or were never alive, classics
and deep cuts and hot trash alike,
swimming in dead zeitgeists, procuring
nourishment in phantom nostalgia
you want to relive, or were never alive, classics
and deep cuts and hot trash alike,
swimming in dead zeitgeists, procuring
nourishment in phantom nostalgia
Defying conventional “wisdom”
that every year’s a “dumpster fire,”
that ours is “the darkest timeline,”
imagining, for the sake of perspective,
a world without humor, or
where orgasms cause rabies
that every year’s a “dumpster fire,”
that ours is “the darkest timeline,”
imagining, for the sake of perspective,
a world without humor, or
where orgasms cause rabies
Pondering Armstrong’s theorem—There is no progress,
evolution killed it all—and remembering that thing
about all your fuckable ancestors
evolution killed it all—and remembering that thing
about all your fuckable ancestors
§
Joe O’Brien is a writer, editor, musicmaker, and public librarian. Their writing has appeared at Entropy, Yes Poetry, Many Loops, Matchbook, Culturico, and Newsday, among other places. Joe founded FLAPPERHOUSE magazine and served as its managing editor during its five-year run. Read more of Joe at josephpobrien.com/writing
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