Joe Biden announces
he’s running for President
deadly kissing bug
spreading across
the United States
there is something
at the end
where it rains plasma
on the sun
where hands touch
where the circle
stays unbroken
Britney Spears
leaves wellness facility
wanders America
through quarantine zones
measles
back from the dead
no music
when Britney’s tired
she looks to the sky
superheroes
launching into space
it makes her a little happier
It was a shitshow
Melania Trump’s birthday
E. coli outbreak
killed the birthday cake
a seizure of sweetness
old white man
crashed the party
something in the water
they scratched
each other’s eyes out
looking
for the soul of America
Model dies
after collapsing
on catwalk
cocaine found
in plane
after crash
churches
shut down
after bombings
record levels
of sadness
and anger
Say hello
to the god of death
Taylor Swift’s
new cat
sleeping
on an asteroid
people are fleeing
New York
meatless Whoppers
drifting
on the Atlantic
how hungry are you?
Yeti footprints
in spring snow
mocked on Twitter
we’re desperate
for anything
herpes outbreak
in our hearts
whenever we love
random bullets
in our homes
whenever we try to fight back
time for a new reality
Somewhere in Ohio
boy pulls sister
from car
to prevent kidnapping
kidnapper
under the influence
of heroin
bravery is young
meanwhile
underpaid carpet cleaners
discuss Karl Marx
over chocolate chip cookies
bravery is sweet
William Barr
in deep trouble
200,000 new viruses
in the ocean
so let’s distract ourselves
tell ghost stories
about the ones
that got away
shit, that’s not good
ghosts
in haunted houses
caused by carbon monoxide
Chewbacca died today
it’s sad
so you renovate your heart
find a mummified human torso
maybe a message
from the other side
avoid being crushed
into archaeology
never lose your head
fight evil with poetry
fly a spaceship over Detroit
Suddenly, everybody’s
talking about teeth
Sonic the Hedgehog
running past the pain
a bizarre land
where vampire facials
are all the rage
where the CEOs
of opioid companies
give lap dances to addicts
where the sky
is a killer asteroid
Fortnite’s volcano
has erupted
you shouldn’t bottle up
your emotions
clock is ticking
for coal miners
who suffer
from black lung
Trump
Biden
slow dance
in a parking lot
A little bit of magic
so bedbug legislators
disappear for good
no more biting
when we’re trying
to dream, to live
a little bit of magic
so Britney Spears
performs again
more songs
about toxic men
going up in flames
a little bit of magic
so Grumpy Cat
rises from the dead
Dressbarn
to close all stores
I’ve never been to
a Dressbarn
but I’m sad
when something
is dying
where will
all the animals go?
maybe
volcano summer camp
where they’ll learn
how to flow again
how to dress
for your best self
because
fuck being endangered
Natalie Portman
denies
Moby’s claims
they dated
in 1999
when the sky
was all purple
when a prince
still sat on the throne
when dancing
still meant something
when the Garden State
was all porcelain
when I wasn’t a drunk
when I still believed
in the power
of pop punk
Plz declare
your independence
by any means necessary
the billion-year-old fossils
buried in the dirt
of your heart
will one day
return to the moon
remember
you are
the largest
volcano
when you cry
your eyes are
lava-makers
now
burn it all down
the savior
is a crater
Justin Karcher (he/him) is a Pushcart-nominated poet and playwright born and raised in Buffalo, New York. He is the author of several books, including Tailgating at the Gates of Hell (Ghost City Press, 2015). He is also the editor of Ghost City Review and co-editor of the anthologies My Next Heart: New Buffalo Poetry (BlazeVOX [books], 2017) and MANSION (dancing girl press, 2019). He tweets @Justin_Karcher. Instagram: the.man.about.town
