J.J. Campbell - Three Poems

 The Last Drop of Regret on Your Lips

share a bottle of vodka
with your crush from
the eighth grade

it will be the last time
you ever see her smile

roam the streets downtown
at four in the morning

loneliness is when no one
bothers to notice anymore

walk in the cemetery
and listen to the ghosts

pain is the last drop
of regret on your lips

tripping the light fantastic
in a purple velvet suit

suddenly, you realize
you are the sore thumb

that desperate soul doing
whatever to be noticed

forgetting that yourself
was always enough

that was what all the
punches and names
and slaps across the
face was trying to
suppress

These Are the Nights That Never End

the thin line between
forever and hate

the agony of the best
thing to ever grace
your lips walking away
to a better tomorrow

these are the nights
that never end

the bottles all go empty
but the soul needs more

like a junkie

like a lost lover on the
last bender known to
man

her eyes were a shade
of neon never seen before

you couldn’t find the words
or the will or the courage
to drop the wall and
embrace change

the mere hope for something
better than the status quo

this is one of those videos
from your youth

but the hot girl isn’t coming
back

no matter the longing look
five o’clock shadow or just
enough leather that you feel
cool

all these lonely steps to go

To Never Fall Victim

the grind gets the better
of me on most days

hell, it happens to most
of us i suppose

i’m sure the rich have
enough fuck you money
to never fall victim to
such shit

but us slugs

the nine to five losers
that keep this country
running on the fucking
flumes

we’re chasing dreams
that don’t exist

or have given in to
whatever illicit drug
that gets us through
the night

that’s the only america
i have ever known

no matter what party
is keeping the rich rich
and the poor poor

and when i clock out
for the final time

hopefully, the urn will
be something more than
a coffee can

J.J. Campbell (1976 - ?) is old enough to know better. He's been widely published over the years, most recently at Synchronized Chaos, Horror Sleaze Trash, Cajun Mutt Press, Mad Swirl and Disturb the Universe Magazine. You can find him most days on his mildly entertaining blog, evil delights. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)