October 20, 2023
Jeffrey H. MacLachlan
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Musical Realism
Sound is the preeminent element of capitalism because otherwise your attention floats elsewhere. I write in prose form because a demon stalks behind these lines, seeking enjambment space to lunge with xylophone molars. He's black and white and composed of words to camouflage his gnashing. Think of a pop song, he says. A real club banger. Dance and clap tonight because you're spending dough even though student loans devour you. But the demon returns with morning cavities. Tomorrow you will have a choice, he says. Chain yourself to a desk or smile will decay. Either way, you're four-four time. So the next day I put on headphones to drown out his snarls and cyst.
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English Juche Language Instruction
lesson today
what is fang
what is fang
machete capitalist tooth
machete paid martinet
barred owl mocks infected roots
barred owl infects
revolutionary art lays bare
washington hawked slave teeth revolutionary ware
midnight termite fascists snack adolescent braces pincushioned
jack-o-latern crooked pincushion
juche probiscus jason unmasked mosquito stumps
juche jason bug juice gums
when buried campers nibble earth decay
camp crystal animal haute students
crystal children mine
americans all jason prey
enamel grind
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Jeffrey H. MacLachlan also has recent work in New York Quarterly, The Greensboro Review, and The Meadow, among others. He is a Senior Lecturer of Literature at GCSU.
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Posted in "Boo"din: Bite of the Uncanny, Oct. '23 and tagged in #Halloween, #boudin, Poetry