Two Poems by Chase Spruiell

yellow puke suit

waster paper.into the bin.
clumsy hands. clumsy words.
inconsistent machine. blabbering
human. on the fault line of
true feeling. bankrupt emotion.
purged from readings of Kurt
Vonnegut. another’s words.
in my mouth. mixed up sputtering.
false emotional vomit. dressed
for the parade. yellow puke suit.
21st century literature. dressed
in yellow. proud of the purge.

Bukowski would buy me
a beer.
Here’s to you, Hank.
Kurt, too.

you are what you eat.

Artwork © James Conant

window of the sun

what of the fish that swims
in the sea
that you do not reel in

what of the bird in the sky
that is overcast by sunshine
that you never see

what of the deer in the woods
that is missed by
your bullet

what of the flower that
grows and dies
unbeknownst to any soul

what of the trees that
shelter each other
and protest the future

what of the rocks
on the river bed
steadying its flow

what of the clouds
in between us
and the sky

what of the earth
holding the pillars
to everything

should they all die
in the window
of the sun

Chase Spruiell was born in Denton, Texas. He spent the majority of his life playing basketball throughout high school and college. He has a bachelor’s degree in Digital Cinema and currently resides in Austin, Texas where he writes and plays music with his band, Free Kittens & Bread.

James Conant is a Cambridge artist who has illustrated zines, chapbooks and poetry collections. He was a primary illustrator for the online journal Spoonful.