Second-Hand Society

—Poems and Photos by Michael Marrotti, Pittsburgh, PA

SECOND-HAND SOCIETY

The insults continue
to arrive in the mail
telling me how much
I've used this month
when my supply
is dwindling

Occasionally
I'm conclusive
sustain my
mental health or
possess the ability
to flush the toilet

When there's no
compensation
for inflation
I may have to take
the next narcotic shit
out in the woods

This is me
being responsible
ripping ticks off
my asshole
aggravated assaults
and time wasted in
Allegheny county jail
become a reality
once the bottle
is barren

It's a second-hand society
when our basic necessities
are on the incline
everything keeps going up
my high remains stagnant

________________

PLEADING GUILTY

I've chosen to be
brutally honest
in the digital realm
of mediocrity

I haven't bitten
my tongue once
therefore
I've never tasted
my own blood

All the punches
I've thrown
were never pulled
always hitting
their mark with
force and precision

A few publications
ending in WordPress
run by the same
editor who claims
to be prolific
has forbidden me
from submitting
over a petty
little argument
standing my ground
like a statue
I'd be offended
if I admired his
writing

CHEERS!

I may not be
the most amiable
writer available
but I've never
pretended to be
something I am not
if candor is a crime
I'm pleading guilty
to the charge 

PITTSBURGH STATE OF MIND

The parents in
Pittsburgh
must've bypassed
the lesson

Where they sit down
with their children
and teach them
to mind
their own business

Now I'm fueled
by contempt
the clenching
of fists

lawyers
and bail bonds
will be the result
of this momentary
lapse of better
judgment

I'm not asking
for much
besides a mutual
respect

We all do
our own thing
who am I
to voice out
against it
I keep to myself

I envy the New York
state of mind
in this busybody town
people are carrying on
like they haven't been
brutally attacked
or introduced to scorn

One beating away
from enlightenment
revolution through
the power of pain 

 World's Smallest Library

LOVER TO PLAINTIFF

Each redundant
argument
rivals the
volume of a
Motorhead
concert

Neighbors
enjoy popcorn
as neither party
accepts blame

From lover
to plaintiff
garments of
clothing
confirm the
separation
carried away
in black bags
over practically
nothing

It's the same
old magazine
publishing
another issue

I cringe at
the date of
a new release

There's still
an occasional
article that
brings me joy

But with the way
I'm feeling now
I'll use these
pages as
toilet paper
to clean up
the mess of
a shitty dilemma

I may be forced
to diversify
as I second-guess
the cancellation
of my lifetime
subscription

HEAL WITHOUT YOU

She keeps
coming back
for more
her nipples
are pointed
in opposite
directions

She's obsessed
with the past
reluctantly
moving on
to the future
indecisive
a victim of
nostalgia

For every time
I've said yes
I've also said no
it’s been years now
some things are
manufactured
to last after
the date of
expiration

Lured back by
the firmness
of her tits
repulsed by
her intellectual
ineptitude

I thought we
would've worn
this down
exceeding
the miles of
this sexual disaster

I've told her before

This life
is no longer yours
listen to
the psychiatrist

Swallow
those pills
the past is a
distance memory
of orgasms
illuminating
the darkness

We've suffered
enough
I've chosen to
heal without you

_____________________

Today’s LittleNip:

A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone's knowledge of himself and the world around him.

—Dylan Thomas

_____________________

—Medusa, with thanks to Michael Marrotti today for his fine poetry and pix, all the way from Pittsburgh (with an “h”, that is—Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, not Pittsburg, California…)! If you appreciate Michael’s work, check out his book, F.D.A. Approved Poetry, available at Amazon.

 Michael and his book

Celebrate new poetry, including tonight’s book launch 

at Sac. Poetry Center for Sarah Lagomarsino’s 

Inheritance, 6pm. Scroll down to the blue column 

(under the green column at the right) for info about 

 this and other upcoming poetry events in our area—

and note that more may be added at the last minute.

Photos in this column can be enlarged by clicking on them once,
then click on the X in the top right corner to come back
to Medusa.