“Daddy Issues” © Mark Blickley

 

anomaly

the pedophile he take his would-be priestess
future tortured discontent for some oo la la
the marquis rip up some animals and then
move on to homo sapiens, more blood in them after all
the taiwanese doctor testify to removing
the balls of a few strange fellers
sitting at home, thinking on their terms
feet hair garters leather lace latex
and would you assume they would do
otherwise?
bylines in daily papers
disturbing anecdotes for fireside chats

above all else, you’re taught not to cry
murder is condoned above submission to weakness
there is no market for what we bottle
priests in chastity belts worshipping ghosts dionysus-bound
child molesters and attracted-to-goats
no beavers or passion-prompted tossed-away pom poms
dark intuition concerning trials and jail cells
when your sister’s friends wanted empathy
they reached out their tanned arms
but you saw your reflection
in the perversions of the 6’o clock media slide show
shoes and boots paddles and young boys
x and y crissed and crossed
the head doctors collecting paychecks
society martha stewart quakers joe mccarthy
the communes are full, and so are the detention centers
give us our rank and file
let us fall through the cracks
and haloes for all

 

Scott Taylor hails from Raleigh, North Carolina. He is a writer and a musician, and an avid world traveler. His short stories and poetry have appeared in numerous print and online publications; his novels Chasing Your Tail and Screwed have been released with Silver Bow Publishing, and his novellas Freak and Ernie and the Golden Egg are slated for inclusion in an upcoming anthology with Running Wild Press. He graduated from Cornell University and was a computer programmer in a past life.

Mark Blickley grew up within walking distance of New York’s Bronx Zoo. He is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild, PEN American Center, and Veterans For Responsible Leadership. His latest book is the flash fiction collection, Hunger Pains (Buttonhook Press).