"Because" should never be the first word in a sentence.
Repentance did not come easily. Conveniently,
they'd all blown their noses before entering
the grand reception room. The crack of doom might be
where the line will end. What friends always told her
usually came back after the third glass of wine.
How can time, or does it, anticipate dread
exploits? "Last night was wonderful," she whispered.
"Another one like that will kill me." From knees
to toes will fuck you up. Of course, his mutt
refused to perform a single trick for company.
Insert disclaimer, keycard, marble, then debunk.
The trunk of how we got here, roots of blood, but soil
that once was only earth. Lurk; lurk. He's worth
more sorrow. Only two ways to return
home, and neither one is sanctified. So our guide
broke five commandments and the fourth wall.
The doll could raise its hand but never proffered
a single answer. He can swear in both the scales
against either scale. Bail me out, baby: I've got a
string quartet and symphony deal. Well-heeled reformers
swarmed the stage while strict constructionists sat back and grinned.
Joel Chace has published work in print and electronic magazines such as, The Tip of the Knife, Counterexample Poetics, OR, Country Music, Infinity's Kitchen, and Jacket. He has published more than a dozen print and electronic collections, most recently Sharpsburg, from Cy Gist Press, Blake's Tree, from Blue & Yellow Dog Press, Whole Cloth, from Avantacular Press, Red Power, from Quarter After Press, Kansoz, from Knives, Forks, and Spoons Press, and Web Too, from Tonerworks. Scorpions is forthcoming from Unlikely Books.