The Life and Crimes of a d/e/a/d/b/e/a/t poet

in a world of chaos, this only adds to the fury…

poem: at least say goodbye

at least say goodbye


at least say goodbye
so long
far well
fuck off
or something

i deserve that
if anything
don’t you think?

moments
however brief
shared
words and whispers
consultations and confessions

you never expected
anything
and i never offered
anything
but a familiar
pain returns

back in high school
the lonely kid
the ugly kid with bad skin
bad teeth
left with dust in his mouth
regret at his feet

you could have told me
when things changed
when i became nothing more
than a faded shirt
left in a Goodwill bag

i am a fool as always
a fool standing alone
on a curb
awaiting a bus
that never slows
drenched in the misery
of expectation

perhaps i should delete you
your image
your profile
but the companionship of memory
of things that could have been
still provide
warmth
as snow falls
and morning shares no sun

February 8, 2010 Posted by Jack Henry | jack henry | , , , , | No Comments Yet

pome: the stillness of a western sky

the stillness of a western tide




trees still bend
as waves of light
disappear over
purple mountains
majesty
i stand at the stillness
of a western tide
teeth clenched
and dreaming -

skies delight at my
ineptitude
my verbal improprieties

there is more in sand
that slips through fingers
than in the whole of the world

i can only smile
when words drip
slow
and wet
and laze toward a matted heart

at LAX i watch
a last plane out
lift into
a brilliant sunset
one captured by mind
and pheromone

there are glimpses of
tigers
at play
springtime in Burma
in their a smile
a dream settles

a woman
without ribbons or bows
in her hair
lingers near
silent
soulful
she stands to his left
as they walk

i know
soon
it will be time
to go home

January 20, 2010 Posted by Jack Henry | jack henry | , , , | No Comments Yet

news – part 2

interesting tidbit number 2.

2. i got an excellent review by g.d. anderson over at his blog, http://georgedanderson.blogspot.com/2010/01/book-review-jack-henry-with-patience-of.html. check it out if you dare. concerns the book “with the Patience of Monuments.”

January 17, 2010 Posted by Jack Henry | with the patience of monuments | , , , , | 1 Comment

news – part 1 -

so two pieces of interesting information:

1. heroin love songs vol. 2, edition 1, dropped around January 18, 2010. the kids over at epic rites are supporting it now. you can find it here. wolfgang carstens really deserves credit for the way the page looks. most cool and excellent, and shit. there are some great writers in it:


Annie Rink
Samantha Ledger
Erin Reardon
Teri Louise Kelly
Cynthia Dawson
Felino Soriano
John Dorsey
Ryan Sayles
Kevin Reid
Puma Perl
A.D. Winans
Charles Brooks III
Karl Koweski
Barbara Moore
Frank Walsh
Mick Parsons
Samantha Robbins
Steve Calamars
Dante Ocariz
Scot Young
Dan Ames
Andrew Taylor
Maria Gornell
Jenny Toune
Dan Provost
Andrew Lopas
James Duncan
Deanna F. Prall

there are even short stories…who knew. the hope is to have the next edition chock full of interviews and nude pictures. well maybe not interviews.

and number 2.

well it’s a different post fuckers…

January 17, 2010 Posted by Jack Henry | heroin love songs | , , , , | No Comments Yet

poem: sitting in the poetry room @ city lights bookstore

Sitting in the Poetry Room @ City Lights Bookstore

it is morning
it is cold
it is Saturday
it is San Francisco

Chinese children play in the alley behind the bookstore
laundry hands on fire escapes
laughter breaks the drone of cars and buses
and fire trucks en route

ghosts sit on shelves
their names familar
some are friends
some are teachers
some are dead
some are waiting

a poet sits at a round table
sunlight enters without threat and written notice
his name will never leave the debt in his wallet
but his will suggests a want

he writes
in a blue book
on lined pages
carries a camera
as if to remember things he will soon forget
a harvest moon soon surrenders
snow is waiting
birds sing

warning alarm:
emergency exit only

December 18, 2009 Posted by Jack Henry | jack henry | , , | 2 Comments