Fred Aiken Writing

Tag: Poetry

October 8, 2021

Hambre de Verano

moments spent hungry while dreaming

are torturous when you think about all the free food

you could have if you just lowered your standards and;

ate moldy crap that no one else wanted

tossed out in rubbish or garbage or flim-flam

depending on where you’re from,

not knowing where to go,

since everything around us will be consumed

one way or another, for one thing, person, place, or moment to shine

like an awkward ornament dangling from a rotten Christmas tree left

out in the sun to blanche

for the summer, in suntan lotion

with bits of sand stuck in its sap

as kids try to eat ice cream made from cruelty-free milk,

because in the food chain no one needs to suffer if we’re all getting fed

October 8, 2021

Unironic Moments

I sometimes wish I could say racist things unironically,

perhaps while drunk,

but instead I only play brilliant chess while drunk,

that’s not true,

I have some of the best sex while drunk,

that’s not true,

I write really thought provoking stuff while drunk,

that’s definitely not true,

I meander through my house with a hoarse voice

out of breath

feeling a lot older than I am

trying to remember something thought provoking;

then realizing I haven’t had an original thought since college,

and even that’s questionable,

and I tell myself I need to stop drinking

and I will

after tonight, or maybe next week,

before long I forgot because I sobered up

in bed with a disappointed wife who keeps kicking me and telling me my breath stinks

October 7, 2021

The Dangers of Imaginary Chairs

caught up in musical chairs played with toy soldiers

shooting arrows straight at my face,

blinding my sight, feeling as if this won’t end well,

because it never does, unless I put some

responsible stop loss in place

to ensure the pain will never be as severe as that time,

you know the one,

at least I think so…

come to think of it, I’ve seemed to have forgotten,

how embarrassing, please no, continue

with the battle,

cry, battles fought for keeps in abandoned fortresses to save

an uncaring princess

from an apathetic villain

made to look a lot scarier than they are,

they will,

suffering at the leisure of being the last one to a chair

when the music stops