Croaking Toads & Squawking Birds

 —Poetry by Gabriel Bates, Pittsburg, KS
—Public Domain Photos Courtesy of Medusa

 

 

THERE’S A TOAD CROAKING
OUTSIDE MY WINDOW

He's been at it
for hours now.

I lay down
on hot sheets.

At least one of us
suffers in silence.

 

 

 

 

THOUGHTS ON ART

A lot of people
want to tell you theirs.

They want to talk about
process,
style,
and all that.

But I'd rather be making art
than just talking about it.

 

 

 

 

SCREAMING INTO THE VOID

A bird squawks
from its perch
on a power line.

I stay inside
and try to write.

But all I can think of
is how we're both
pretty much doing
the same thing.

 

 

 

 

THEY WANT BLOOD FROM THIS STONE

The tax collectors,
the utilities companies,
the past landlords,
the current landlord,
the child support agency,
and so on.

But what can you take
from someone who's
already lost everything?

 

 

 

 

FOR CORY

Everyone still wants
to wring the neck
of the drunk driver
who hit you.

Your old lady
finally paid off
that motorcycle
you'd been wanting.

My brother
misses you.

I feel his pain
like it were my own. 

 

 

 

 

THIS WHOLE TOWN SMELLS LIKE DOG SHIT

I'm walking down the alley
when I notice a dumpster
tipped over
with trash strewn everywhere—
a couple mattresses,
some bags,
and a blue recliner.

It's funny
what makes you feel at home.

 

 

 

 

EXCERPT FROM A SCREENPLAY
I WROTE IN MY SLEEP

OPEN

(two frogs having a conversation while lost in the woods)

FROG #1: "So everyone just goes around meeting each other and drinking their favorite milkshakes, and they call that a life?"

FROG #2: "Well, wouldn't you?"

FROG #1: "But is that enough?"

FROG #2: *silence*

(fade to black)

CLOSE

 

 

 

 

BACON

That was
his nickname.

We grew up together,
lived in the same town.

By age 27,
he was on hospice
in a nursing home
with liver failure
due to alcoholism.

Everyone said
he was bright yellow.

I guess some lives
were meant to be tragic. 

 

 

 

 

HARAKIRI

It's an old
suicide ritual.

The Japanese
used to disembowel
themselves with swords.

Only some people
can understand
wanting to die that badly.

__________________

Today’s LittleNip:

HIGH THOUGHTS
—Gabriel Bates

Do you think
the aliens
would even bother
to save us
if a deadly asteroid
were hurtling
through space
toward Earth?

___________________

—Medusa, welcoming Gabriel Bates back to the Kitchen today, with many thanks for fine poetry. Keep up with Gabriel at facebook.com/gabrieljbates/.

 

 

 

Gabriel Bates

 

 

 

 

 

 

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