Mark Young

A sedentary tailgate

My meniscus is torn. The
fluid in my iPad turns
tail & flees down long-
abandoned corridors. My
iPad turns purple & sets
off to find a corrida de
toros in order to sate its
blood lust. I am left alone
with only an ultrasound
machine for company. It
does not speak, is waiting
for a technician to arrive.

 

The End is Extended

As flowey said, it’s against the rules...
ThePilotDogee: The End Extended

I am acting nonchalant — or
non-chalant as I once saw it
written, which I prefer, even
though chalant doesn’t exist
as a word so my dictionaries
tell me. I seem to be attracted
to things that do not exist, no
beginning, no end. Non-end-

ities, if you like, until negated
which then creates them. Pro-
vides a beginning which will, se-
quentially, imply an end. & if
they catch on, the beginning
celebrated, the end extended.

Interstitial Music

Chaldean philosophy believes every-
thing is nothing & nothing is every-
thing. The numerical value of interstices
in Chaldean numerology is nine which
is the final number of the godhead triad
of three, six, & nine. Nine is the number
of everything, & the shadow number of
zero. Zero is the number of nothing. Any-

one represented by nine is supposedly
focused on justice, integrity, honor. They
are frank, speak without a filter, are likely
to have had a tough upbringing & inclined
to see the big picture of the world around
them. Sometimes they might sing about it.

 

A line from Iggy Pop

Politics plays no part. Reactions are
not necessarily reactionary. Some-
times provoked as if hearing nails on
a blackboard, sometimes by not hear-

ing the smooth passage of a gastro-
pod. But they’re a must-have to keep
any aspiring young scientist curious.
Best addressed in a relaxed-fit sweat-

shirt hoodie in cotton-blend fabric —
but make sure there’s an alligator app-
lique patch on the chest so people will
think you’re wearing Lacoste & not the

castoffs of a Preston-based heavy metal
group. No need to be apprehensive of
being apprehensive. Remember, other
people may ruin, but don't run, your life.

 

Mark Young was born in Aotearoa New Zealand but now lives in a small town on traditional Juru land in North Queensland, Australia. He is the author of more than sixty-five books, primarily text poetry but also including speculative fiction, vispo, memoir, and art history. His most recent books are a pdf, Mercator Projected, published by Half Day Moon Press (Turkey) in August 2023; Ley Lines II published by Sandy Press (California) in November 2023; un saut de chat published by Otoliths Books (Australia) in February 2024; and Melancholy, a James Tate Poetry Prize winner, published by SurVision Books (Ireland) in March 2024.