Poetry – John Sweet

and everybody knows

a fist clenched becomes your life,
and you learn to hate who you were

learn to hate who you are

your father’s biggest
disappointment, right?

your mother’s favorite junkie

one more goddamn ghost in a
half-empty house
just looking for a trigger to pull

John Sweet sends greetings from the rural wastelands of upstate NY. He is a firm believer in writing as catharsis, and in compassionate nihilism which, as luck would have it, has all the best bands. His published collections include NO ONE STARVES IN A NATION OF CORPSES (2020 Analog Submission Press) and THERE’S ONLY ONE WAY THIS IS GOING TO END (Cyberwit, 2023).