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Back by sometime still called Monday

West Coast Notebook Entry #1

Michele McDannold

Michele McDannold was the Editor-in-Chief at Red Fez Publications for five years and is currently the editor/publisher at

Citizens for Decent Literature Press.

 

In 2010, she founded

The Literary Underground, a grassroots effort committed to supporting independent artists, promoting diversity in creativity, and fostering community in the small press. She is the editor and organizer of the

This Is Poetry” project. Michele recently settled in the Northwest region of Indiana, following an epic roadtrip via the Magical Jeep in order to #takepoetry (everywhere). She comes from the Land of Lincoln, downstate Illinois, where the corn grows.. she has an extensive collection of flannel and rubber chicken heads. Michele’s first full-length poetry collection Stealing theMidnight from a Handful of Days is now available from Punk Hostage Press.

Back by Sometime was previously published in Blotterature Volume 2 Issue 2

we travel by landmark and compass

an itinerary that

not only includes

but demands

getting lost

 

what's needed 

is

highly re-evaluated

 

we have friends in every port--

some will pull through

and some will 

forget what day it is

 

piss by the side of the road 

carry various weaponary  

but most importantly

always carry a can opener

 

you do have to know

a stranger when you see one

 

be careful out there

safe travels, all that

 

clues to watch out for are:

uniforms.

and anyone else sunk so low

all they have is

it's us or them..

look for desperation

never forget crazy

and anyone thinking they

have/need/are

power.

the bloodlust riffs off them

loud as sirens, those ones

 

sometimes they come with smiles

but still 

you usually know.

today we go again.

birds chirping good morning

smoking a bowl on the sidewalk in oakland.

can i turn the hardest criminal to a smile?

i feel sort of naked about it

though it’s difficult to imagine

anyone

much pays attention

outside of themselves.

 

it took a good three months

to figure out

the city.

please just keep on

please just keep keeping

for the various entities

how things get done

 

for me,

the break

and all the way down

is of no consequence

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