Stainless Steel Machete

salvation at the bottom of forever lake

a good excuse to party with the moon

swinging wildly at the stars

until god 

takes them all away

how many times must we visit

the same grave

the dead need sleep

and I

need a reason to live

immortality takes patience sharpen the blade

All that’s Holy

God/Family/Steelers

on a bumper sticker 

he works in mysterious ways

meek inherit the earth

sinners take all

labored breath

mumbling about Rainman

on the radio

fire in the madhouse

at the end of the world

road dogs weighing the pros and cons

of self-subtraction

insignifi-cunt little lives

little white lies

Mom said I could be anything

so I became an issue

the scent of fresh blood

and dead flowers follow him around

“If you knew where I was buried,

would you piss on my grave?”

I love you

Planet ZOO

right hand

red

poor man

blues

do you love me?

storm called truth

creature comforts lie

after we tear down the wall

and eat the rich

we’ll start killing each other

with love 

until it all

burns down

and the mothership

brings us hometo a brand new cage

Atom with the Creature Brain

drugs dragged his soul

across the pavement just

to feed empty roads

open heart

bleed into yours

there’s gonna be a battle

for his soul’s custody

in hell someday

bought and sold

many times before

blindly

robbing

peter paying paul

bearers of the weight

squirming toads

take it all

spitting on shadows

and stepping stones

Gonzo Journalist, Poet, Artist, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Cajun Mutt Press. Author of eight poetry collections. James D. Casey IV has been published in print and online by several small press venues and literary magazines. The 2016 La Voce dei Poeti, La Catena della Pace International Poetry Contest gave his entry “Warriors of the Rainbow” a critic’s choice award, and his poem “That’ll do Pig” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize by New Pop Lit in 2019.