UNDERGROUND VOICES MAGAZINE/JJ CAMPBELL


	UNDERGROUND VOICES: POETRY

JJ CAMPBELL

a quarter century of failure

this year roughly marks twenty
five years since i first had the
notion to kill myself

how does one celebrate
such an anniversary

shotgun

alcohol

razor blades
and a bathtub

a running car
in a closed
garage

a vacation to
the golden gate
bridge

it's a shame that all of
them ring so hollow
and are so cliched

sadly i think it's the
current path for me
letting the beard grow
and simply fading away

leaving it to the rest of
you to come up with a
better cliche

though, i will warn you now
if i happen to come into some
money i'm hiring a firing squad

i've always been a big fan of
history and god knows i could
use another last cigarette

after 33 years of life

i had a
dream
the other
morning
that i
tested
positive
for cancer

and i woke
up laughing
knowing
damn well
that god
would
never
be so
kind

J.J. Campbell (b. 1976) lives, writes but mostly
dies a little each day in Brookville, Ohio. He's
been widely published over the years, most notably
in Zygote in My Coffee, Nerve Cowboy, Chiron
Review, Thunder Sandwich and Babel Magazine.

You can contact J.J. via email at jcampb4593@aol.com