Pris Campbell

Guarding The Edge


Outside my bedroom window,

dealers meet their daily quota

pumping the walking dead.

Hookers bargain for memories

in the back of run-down Chevrolets.


A man screams Armageddon

Nobody cares what he says.


The Buddhist sits on my doorstep.

Mud stains coat his feet.

He says we're all connected;

muggers hiding in alleys,

old ladies prone on the street.


I laugh at the distant rumblings,

flip on my wide screen TV,

ignore cracks already cobwebbing

my carefully guarded space.



Bedding the Butterfly


I watch you watch her wriggle

center stage, bait for the guy

with orange hair and bad voice

netting the throbbing crowd.


The guitar worships her,

kisses her sweet ass,

pubescent hips gyrating

in the doo-whap thick of the night.


I know you will grope me later,

imagining her instead,

her halter top tossed free

and floating-


your red sequined butterfly

of receding youth,

flutterdying

on our cold hardwood floor.



Home

Bios     Links     Guidelines     Reviews     Chaps     TS Publishing   Home