J.J. Campbell

fine line of chaos and boredom

heroes come and go

you have to learn that
over time as a child

i believe i knew about
death way too early
in my life

that fine line of
chaos and boredom

life and death

now that i’m old
i see those lines
way too clearly

and that inner child
wants to take a few
steps over these days

i remind it about
the flames and how
easily we can burn

of course, that fucker
is sitting back with
a cigar and a martini

waiting for a damn
show

she had better dreams

around a foot of snow outside
and all you can think about
is how your bad back will
never make it to the end

it is on these nights where
you realize you are fucking
old

life passed you by years ago

you weren’t paying attention

i’m sure the yankees had some
important series they were
pissing away at the time

you were warned about
saying no too often

thinking that the dream woman
was always going to come
one day

you never thought maybe
she was aborted, killed in
some tragic school shooting

or better yet

did meet you and realized
she had better dreams

these are the nights where
even your best self would
understand the need for the
shotgun in the corner to
actually be used

 

J.J. Campbell (1976 - ?) is old enough to know where the bodies are buried. He has been widely published over the years, most recently at Synchronized Chaos, The Black Shamrock, Terror House Magazine, Cajun Mutt Press and Beatnik Cowboy. You can find him most days on his mildly entertaining blog, evil delights. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)