Chris Butler - Three Poems

Third Degree Burns

The hubris of a kamikaze Icarus

crashing into the rising fiery phoenix.

I'll stare at a solar eclipse

before I'll ever glimpse

at myself in the mirror,

and stare through this stranger,

standing there, deflecting the rejection

of morning's deepest, darkest reflection,

throwing one punch so his glass jaw cracks,

and that man never, ever comes back.

Thesaurus Rex

People make big words little.

Poets make little words big.

Punks on Junk

Scratched nerves involuntarily move

when the needle’s inside the vinyl’s groove.

Chris Butler is an illiterate poet. He has previously published three books and seven chapbooks of poetry, with his most recent chapbook, "DOOMER", published by Ethel Press. He has published over 500 poems, and many works of fiction, creative nonfiction, journalistic articles and academic journals. He is also the co-editor of The Beatnik Cowboy literary journal.