Issue 21: James Dufficy

Shtum

Even with the bats,

and the fleas,

and the assorted film crew,

the baboons rest well.

Lord knows what a sleepless night

would look like.

The wind blows—

not with its lips

but its fists.

Retirement

Marcel, you’re finished.

You’ve done clowning

for the week.

So take off that

stupid balloon hat.

I don’t care what

kind of ambassador

you think you are—

take it off.

Or I will take it off

for you. Jesus!

I could use a hit

of laughing gas

right about now.

Presto

The polar bear must be put down

but the fleas now survive the winter.

Eve is going bald.

Adam is growing breasts.

Just ask God.

And just imagine his feelings

when he found out

there is no hereafter, etc.

No,

the only thing that doesn’t break down,

that doesn’t rub off,

is the glitter under my eyes.

Luxury Bespoke Aquaria

Wearing a scarlet ‘A’

for alcoholism,

for Alzheimer’s,

for acquired immune deficiency syndrome—

you tested positive

for cocaine,

benzodiazepines,

and Flintstones chewable multivitamins.

Politics is an ego trip,

but also a death trap.

James Dufficy's poem 'The Invaders' won the Ambit Summer Poetry Competition 2018, judged by George Szirtes. Other poems have appeared in Blackbox Manifold, The Gay and Lesbian Review, and Stand. Stories in the Ham Free Press and Microfiction Monday Magazine.

Copyright © 2018 by James Dufficy, all rights reserved. This text may be used and shared in accordance with the fair-use provisions of Copyright law. Archiving, redistribution, or republication of this text on other terms, in any medium, requires the notification of the journal and consent of the author.

Home  |  Issue 21