Mickey J. Corrigan

Nuked

My father was a tax auditor
disaster was his business.

My mother had cancer
disaster was her curse.

My brother had mental problems
disaster was his calling.

My little sister loved men
disaster was her fate.

We were all white mice
in a laboratory of chaos
in that monument to disaster:
the nuclear family.

 

Chicken Little

The sky is falling
on chickens
the sky looks bad
for farmers, neighbors
of factory farms
for workers
in chicken plants
for everyone
under a falling sky.

The sky is bright
for stockholders
for the big four
breeding their broilers
fast growing
densely housed
breasted big
they cannot walk
under a falling sky.

The sky was blue
over chickens
on family farms
grazing and nesting
fresh laid eggs
killed for the rare meal
eaten on special occasions
six decades ago
1400% fewer chickens
on 98% more farms
under a changing sky.

The sky has fallen
on chickens
widgets with feathers
cogs in a food system
made for profit
after little gods ruled
it's okay to treat
humans like animals,
not treat animals
humanely
under the fallen sky.

Hair Force One

In the tilt-a-whirl
of the day's changes
it blew up
and down
with the wind
like the day's stories
the rollercoaster pronouncements
the freak show explanations
the three-ring circus entertainment
of the captive audience.

In the staged photo-ops
over the dying, dead bodies
the masked, the wounding
the long lines of hungry
the unschooled, the jobless
the hollow-eyed and lost
it got layered three times
flipped up to disguise
folded over the ugly
slicked back on the sad
a blank egg cozy
old suit on a rack
of nothing to see
but the emperor's
naked
baldness.

In the funhouse mirror
reflecting, refracting
only this one moment
a distorted untruth
a brassy sunset
dyed, enhanced
revamped, remolded
a fat lie
on a fat head
that can't see
itself
for itself.

First hair
force one:
once a symbol
of virility
strength
wisdom
wavering, waving
a red flag
pirate's warning
we ignored
we accepted
one last glass
of the fake
orange
Kool-Aid.

 

Originally from Boston, Mickey J. Corrigan writes tropical noir with a dark humor. Her poetry has been widely published in literary journals and chapbooks. In 2020, Grandma Moses Press released Florida Man. Her most recent novel is All That Glitters, a scathing look at Palm Beach debauchery and greed (The Wild Rose Press, 2022).