3 Poems, by Josh Dale
Gimmicks
Lit cigarettes are the biggest gimmick
to ever grace the population
but no one’s complaining
in droves anymore
clandestine beings
control all the contents and
currency so what’s the problem
lesser known
Alighted ash tip
into oncoming traffic with
a red light the ash
cannot stand a chance
until it’s chipped
apart and fizzled
on dead flesh
Dry the Backs
In the time of cassette tapes and pencils
favorite aunts vying
rigid green hoses spraying
VHS tapes of mundane vignettes
were time capsules before
they even knew it
now the family homestead is foreclosed
the cobwebs in the basement quiver
as the relics are unearthed
despite only seeing them now
since the packaging
you knew exactly where they were
as if a diagram of basement boxes
were tattooed on your arm:
“Xmas ‘97”
”photOs Deb”
”Work stuf”
and other minutiae
you wish got ruined
in the flood
Inflammatory
The acquisition of paychecks
doesn’t pay for life anymore
maybe for the silent observers or
standard issue warriors
that put down rabid dogs before
they bred.
Allocations of food and sunlight
ergonomics and machinations
for the good guys that came home
and changed it all
We’re all kings of the world walking
in our own world
past one another without swords
and bow to no one
under thinning umbrella
pieces of paper
alighted in the breeze
gone to distant parts
yet they don’t tell you
it all burns in the end
it all rots in the end
Photo by Josh Dale
Josh Dale is a Temple University alum, bicyclist, beer enthusiast, and owner of the sweetest Bengal cat. His work has appeared in 48th Street Press, Huffington Post, Page & Spine, vox poetica, and others. He’s the founder and editor-in-chief of Thirty West Publishing House with two chapbooks and a poetry collection, Duality Lies Beneath (Thirty West 2016).