IN THE WORLD OF DISQUIETING OBJECTS

WE WERE ALWAYS LAUGHING AT YOU

 

I’m finally easing into the

2021 submitting & publishing season.

 

Fuck COVID,

fuck the rotting corpse of

four years of inept

fascism & tyranny.

 

Let’s get existential.

 

This is just a quick refresher:

 

 

https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Dead_Man_Either_Way.html?id=LsFszQEACAAJ

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOT EVERY BITTER TRUTH IS AN ADMISSION OF FAILURE

 

Something i recently stumbled across.

 

Worth the price of admission for my picture alone. 

 

I was, what - 9 years old, maybe?

 

Too funny.

 

Still, some pretty decent scribbling when

you click on the links.

 

If i didn’t hate myself so much,

I might even like me…..

 

 

http://www.deadgoodpoets.hh0.uk/johnsweet/

 

 

 

 

 

DEAR ASSHOLES IN CONGRESS

It's great that you're all self-righteous and

right up in the faces of the Big Tech CEOs,

demanding change so their financially-motivated

actions can be corrected.

I assume you are also this worried about

the gun violence that plagues our country; the

slaughters, the massacres, the almost-daily atrocities,

etc etc.  This violence might not be financially-motivated,

but the sales of these guns are sure as shit 

putting $$$$ in someone's pocket.  I assume yours,

at some level.

So, fuck you, you spineless, hypocritical

cowards.  Go choke on your thoughts

and prayers.

BASTARD FLAGS - THE FINE ART OF OBSCURITY

 

Seriously, less than a buck-fifty on Amazon yesterday?

 

I’m almost insulted.

Still bought a few, of course....

 

And then, this morning, after I

orchestrated my little run on sales,

they were back up to full price again.

 

So, I’ve been buying them when they’re

that cheap, because, if I die,

they can only increase in value,

and THEN who’s laughing, smartass????

That's right.  I am.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Bastard-Faith-John-Sweet/dp/1973919311

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/109749165X/

 

 

 

DON'T STOP MOVING CUZ THEY'RE RIGHT BEHIND YOU

 

Been easing myself back into submitting work lately, but it’s a chore.  Apparently, poetry journals are even more a thing of the past than there were the LAST time I sent out poems.  There’re a whole lot of publications out there that don’t want to see your work unless you fit into their specific geo/ethno/socio/politico/gendo/manifesto scheme of things.  Interesting in theory, but it seems like an excellent approach to ultimately doing more than proving the law of diminishing returns.  In a world of self-marginalized voices, the lowest common denominator will always rise to the top.  I’m pretty sure we just spent 5 grueling years proving that.

 

Personally, I dislike assholes of all stripes, creeds and species. Beyond that, I’m not particularly interested in being labelled.

 

No matter who you are, tho, I encourage you to squander your precious stimulus money on something as ephemeral and foolish as art.  Being a true martyr, no profits of purchases of my work will go to me, even if you buy directly FROM me.  Could I BE any more fucking awesome?

 

The answer is “no”.

 

 

https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/bleedinghorse99

 

http://ravennapress.com/books/human-cathedrals/

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pJvyULkAcM2P26lBsLtvUg3g48z-KMMT/view

 

https://issuu.com/bleedinghorse

 

https://www.amazon.com/Bastard-Faith-John-Sweet/dp/1973919311

https://www.amazon.com/dp/109749165X/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BECAUSE NO ONE SURVIVES THIS AGE OF MANMADE POISON

 

BIGGER THAN TRUTH AND LOUDER THAN WAR

 

I’M JUST GONNA KEEP HAWKING THIS SHIT

UNTIL ONE OF US IS DEAD.

 

IF I COULD AFFORD FREE COPIES

FOR EVERYONE,

I’D DO IT IN A HEARTBEAT.

 

BUST OUT THAT STIMULUS CHECK,

THOUGH,

AND DO US ALL A FAVOR.

 

AND KEEP IN MIND -

NONE OF THE REPUBLICANS YOU ELECTED

WANTED TO GIVE YOU ANYTHING.

 

THE FUCKHOLES.

 

 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pagan-days-john-sweet/1110369846

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/pagan-days-john-sweet/dp/1469987724

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COULD ONLY LAUGH AT THE IDEA OF BEING LOST

 

the most important thing about drowning

____________________________________________

 

 

silver skies through a

dirty windshield at 90 miles an hour said

this can only be the beginning or the end and

she said nothing

 

had fingers dipped in blood had dreams

blessed by golden mechanical birds

but none of it mattered

 

could only drive faster

 

could only laugh at the idea of being lost

 

thought 20 years was an awful long fucking

time to be dragging the lake for my

father’s bones but here i was

 

here we were

 

cold beneath the bitter haze of the sun and

nothing between us but

the same old neverending ocean of fear

 

 

 

 other wars

___________

 

the cold logic of religions

built on torture and murder

 

of nations eager to bathe in

the blood of martyrs

 

can’t cry about the stench once

you’ve built your future on

a solid foundation of corpses

 

find the girlfriend in the

trunk with her mouth

duct-taped shut with her

fingers cut off

 

find the boyfriend in mexico

with his wife’s little sister

 

gets to the point where

growing up is the

same as growing old but

what else do you know?

 

pull the trigger but the

gun is empty

 

find the point

where all gods fail

 

stranger at the door smiles

says welcome home

 

 

 

 

 

DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE WAITING FOR TIME TO MOVE BACKWARDS

 

Like I’m someone to take advice from…..

 

https://www.connotationpress.com/poetry/3245-john-sweet-poetry

 

 

GLORIANA, MOTHERFUCKER

 

THE LAST DAY OF YOUR LIFE WILL BE JUST LIKE ANY OTHER

 

YOU AND I, IN ROOMS OF SOLITUDE

 

SO YOU'RE JUST GONNA SPEND YOUR WHOLE LIFE DYING?

 

At the end of every year,

I’ve usually got a pretty decent collection

of poems that had been accepted that year,

but then had been forgotten about

by the editors, or maybe the ‘zine had

folded, or maybe the editor had woken up

one morning and said “Holy shit!

What was I thinking??!!

This guy sucks!”

 

So, 2020 was no exception.

Finally got around to gathering up

the poems that slipped between

the cracks, here they are in

technicolor black &white glory.

 

Enjoy.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xw2y3-G0fhdSFGhauaT339JBgH_XC6cr/view?usp=sharing

HUMAN CATHEDRALS

 

It’s still out there.

 

You still need it.

 

Frankly, we’re all getting

a little tired of this

state of denial

you’ve been living in.

 

 

http://ravennapress.com/books/human-cathedrals/

 

 

 

 

ONCE A DEAD MAN, ALWAYS A DEAD MAN

 

An excellent selection of

work from the

21 st century.

 

Ridiculously cheap on

AMAZON

these days

(under $5, buddy-boy),

so now is the time to

exploit my

universal fame.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Man-Either-Way/dp/1952411017

 

 

 

BUT SERIOUSLY, HOW DO YOU SPOT A FAILED POET?

 

Or a relevant one, for that matter.

 

It’s a toughie.

 

While you’re cogitating on that,

here’s one from the wayback machine…..

 

 

https://www.lummoxpress.com/lc/product/the-century-of-dreaming-monsters/

 

 

 

 

TO BE SO GODDAMN AMERICAN

 

I totally forget if

this ever got posted.

Some collections reviewed @

 

 THE BIG

WINDOWS

REVIEW

 

  

https://thebigwindowsreview.com/book-reviews/john-sweet-three-works/

Many thanks to Tom Zimmerman

 

 

 

 

 

WE ARE ALWAYS FUCKING THE WRONG GHOSTS

 

Still rounding up work I missed

when it was originally published…..

 

http://www.cephalopress.com/one-foot-free-one-foot-caught/