New(ish) poems + their NeeDoh pairings
Also, I did a reading
It’s been a great couple of months for microplastics, Cherub and otherwise. I had 3 poems come out recently with Dodo Eraser and M E N A C E.
Additionally, NeeDoh fever has swept the nation, with people fighting to the death over malt-filled ballsacks.
I more or less stumbled into a restock at the toy store the other day, right before things started getting bloody out there. And I have to admit, they’re pretty nice.
So, if you should be so lucky to come across a tranche of NeeDohs via your local Hallmark or Mercari scalper, I’m suggesting a specific model you can pair with each poem.
Red 100 Days
One of the new poems is “Red 100 Days” in Dodo Eraser. I’m not sure why Dodo Eraser is called Dodo Eraser, but I’ve been following their work for a while and love seeing what they serve up. They’re also from Texas, which made me want to send them this one, and maybe made them want to publish it.
I wrote this last summer when a maelstrom of legislative horseshit and preventable tragedy from the flooding really had me on one. I am still on one. This poem is about the constant low-grade rage that sometimes feels required to make art at this time in this state.
The poem starts with a quote from my friend in Korea, whom I refer to as Mr. M here, who was my mentor when I lived there a decade ago. Mr. M continues to break more American news stories to me than any actual news outlet. We also talk about flowers.
This poem has zinnias! And degloving!
NeeDoh pairing: A red Nice-Sicle. It’s summery, it’s hard, it’s hell colors. I’ve heard it stains other plastic toys. Looks like you can hold the stick and kinda whip the whole thing around. I recommend putting it in the fridge for extra firmness and chill.
POST-FEED
This one’s in M E N A C E. Every once in a while, I come across a publication where I’m like, huh, we are really operating on the exact same wavelength at the moment.
M E N A C E was that for me recently.
“POST-FEED” is one of my more direct explorations of a running theme in my life, and specifically at work, which is that PEOPLE SAY THEEEEEEE MOST OUT-OF-POCKET SHIT TO ME EVERYWHERE I GO. I now have roughly a decade of data on this. It is no longer because I’m fresh and young. It’s not the ongoing pandemic making people regress. It is something older and deeper. This is me trying to capture this feeling of being hunted-or-something-like-it in really weird, oblique, nonsensical ways.
Everything in this poem is true and happened within a span of 2 hours one Thursday. I then wrote it in a workshop my friend al organized on that same day. I think I drafted this directly into the chat box of the Discord event channel, which feels appropriate for this one. Thanks, al!
NeeDoh pairing: The elusive Squeezza. Cartoonish, gauche, maybe makes you go a little feral trying to pry off those pepperonis. Feels good goin’ down. Feels bad after.
Roleplay where you’re the surveillance state
This last one, “Roleplay where you’re the surveillance state,” is also in M E N A C E and is kinda dirty. One of those times where I’m like, why the fuck is my poetry portfolio on the same site as my technical writing portfolio? Lucky for me, nobody navigates to websites anymore, and there are no jobs, so it’s a moot point.
If you haven’t gathered from some of my other work lately, I’m super interested in examining violent perverted systems right now.
What do we let into our homes? What’s technofascism doing to your sex life? Why do dread and lust live so close together? Is turning an idea on its head, defining yourself by what you are against, still using the same sticky blocks, in the end?
NeeDoh pairing: SplootSplat.
Also, I did a reading
I just got back from a road trip to New Mexico, where I did a reading in Santa Fe through Floating Words Poetry and Kith Books. It was a joint affair with Atlas St. Cloud and Sterling-Elizabeth Arcadia. I rarely do readings, for various reasons, but I’m so glad I made the exception for this one. Atlas and Sterling-Elizabeth are ridiculously talented, and it was such a treat to hear their work live. And the audience was so locked in, which was cool.
The sleeper hit of the trip was Alamogordo, home of the best milkshake I’ve ever had and the biggest expanse of white sand I’ve ever seen.
I highly recommend checking out Floating Words readings if you’re in New Mexico. The writer who runs it, Scott, is so cool, and you can buy his new book here. He made a chapbook to commemorate the reading, with a selection of poems from each reader. It is way nicer than it has any right to be:
And I have 6 of them to give away. Message me if you’re interested in one! Let’s MOVE 🗣️ THIS 🗣️ PRODUCT 🗣️🗣️