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The following is based on a true story. This dude came into my work 3 years ago and literally did not possess the vocabulary to order his food. I don't know what his story is, but he inspired this piece.

"ill literacy"

He spoke in code
like birds perched
on branches
singing
unintelligible tunes
only they understand

I watched him
in silence
my voice boxed in
my voicebox in
shock
at the witnessing
of a mis-education

illiteracy
personified

another
foster child
of the SUSD system
just another
“unreachable” student
deemed
“just another”

<17%
of stocktonians
have college degrees
17%
such
a juvenile #
18%
leastwise
is more
adult-sounding

in front
of every high school
is a flag

red
white
blue

ring
----------
middle
----------
index

only
the “just anothers”
can read
between the lines
“I like to pretend that sometimes” I said. He looked at me, in a way as though asking why or how without the desire to physically say the words.
“What I mean is that sometimes I like to pretend you were my first, instead of your older boy summer romance cliche. I don't know why though. Maybe I want to keep a bit of you with me when you leave. I think that when I’m old, or even just in college I’ll tell people how I lost my virginity to my bestfriend and how special it was. Maybe after I tell enough people I’ll even start to believe it too. Not that Michael isn't sumptuous or anything. Maybe its because when I tell people that story I’ll leave them with piece of you, and you’re great.”
He snapped the last of the bowl and kinda just sat there with a weird expression. It wasn't confusion or even melancholy. He seemed upset over something. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me,” he said.
“It won’t always be.”
I didn't feel sad, or happy, or angry with the silence. It was cold that night and we both kind of just sat there looking at the bright Los Angeles skyline we were so used to. He packed another bowl but I was done smoking for the night. Perhaps he didn't realize I’d been dying to tell that to him for a while. Killing myself thinking about him. Maybe I loved him, then, truth be told, I didn't know. I felt empty. Like I’d just thrown up everything I’d eaten that day. My head was as blank as the smoke coming from his mouth. He slowly put his arm around me and kissed me that way you see in movies. The way your friends sometimes talk about but you don’t really understand until it happens. He then put the **** down and fell on my lap. I quietly ran my fingers through his hair. Then he said, “Did I ever tell you about this fantastic girl whose virginity I took in the schools parking lot?”
 May 2013 Sobriquet
Liam
Homeless old beggar                                Elderly, destitute man in serious need
disgusting and annoying                          really down and out, desperate
degrades the neighborhood                     probably feels safe around here
aggressively accosts me                            approaches me hopefully
thinks I'm an easy touch                           believes he can count on me
unappreciative...always wants more       honest and humble about his needs
likely spends it on ***** and cigarettes  maybe I'll bring him food next time
Takes advantage of my good nature       Fortunate that I'm in a position to help
I've always had a thing against
people who come across as sappy
but that being said,
you make me the sappiest sap
in all the land,
where do you get off,
acting like that?
so **** cute,
pretty,
****,
beautiful
whichever word you prefer
they're all for you anyway,
you've never read them,
but they're yours
so I'll go on
being sappier than tree blood
and you'll go on
driving me nuts
 Apr 2013 Sobriquet
Paul Hardwick
Today at work
I met a W I ZZ A R D
I need to explain that to you
So you can see it to

My job
Security at the gadget show live theater
The place a linking tunnel from Hall 11 into the theater, Hall 12
before me all I can see is that tunnel made of cloth on which they projected lights
giving a strobbing affect from Hall 11 towards me
the theater behind all lights off was a black as night
then infront of me was smoke
in hall 11 over the radio i hear the silent fire alarms are going off
this is one the public do not hear, so I take my place and ready for anything
this is where my poem comes in.





Today on my green bus
Staring out the window
I see double yellow lines in the road
as i arrive the sun shines on me
but little would i know
today you will meet a   w i ZZ ard
at work still hafl asleep
i take my post
light flash infront of me
then lots of smoke
alams go off around me
then form behind the black curtains
what do I see
a man called brian
a man from OZ
not on this day but a   W I zz A R D

THE  W I zz A R D of OZ


PAUL :-)
I know you find this hard, but some of you will never get me, yes it is as hard as this.
But I love you anyway.
 Apr 2013 Sobriquet
Jeremy Duff
Holidays have always been a tricky thing for me.

On Father's Day I stole my father's vicodin.
On Easter I got black out drunk.
On my sister's third birthday I smoked Salvia.
On Christmas I stole my Aunt's brandy.
On New Years I stayed home alone and smoked cigarettes 5 hours into the new year.
On St. Patrick's day I saw a lot of green. And smoked a lot of green as it happened.
On the first day of summer I was in summer school.
On the first day of school I ditched.
On Valentines Day I bought myself chocolate and cried.
On Halloween I dressed up as myself and got my stomach pumped.
On my birthday I stayed home from school sick and watched TV all day.

But on the day I first spoke with her I was in a black box.
 Apr 2013 Sobriquet
DieingEmbers
Her cream white hand
whose touch
turned my legs to jelly
as I soaked up her attention
like a sponge
as hundreds of thousands
of images
bowled through my mind

but too late
I realised she was only

triffeling
with my affections
Let me tell you about the time I got jumped,
my pumped up heart thumped me apart
it was around three AM
and we were drunk again
drinking flavored ***** in my apartment
somewhere in between boys and men
drinking to our heart's content
we head out and hit the cement
we were going to the Camel
where we thought time would unravel
It was a small venue on broad street
they did ska and jazz and other stuff
and it was never full, not by far
but we were in the mood for drunk ska
and we danced
or more so we thrashed
and kicked and punched and all kinds of other ****,
then the show was over
and we headed back
walking down broad street at 3 AM
can make you superstitious
can make you avoid every crack to avoid a broken back
we turned onto first street
and it was dark out
the sort of dark that is only viewed in a six year old's room
the sort of dark that breeds monsters in closets
or under beds, **** it, it's all in our heads,
but people are monsters that do exist
they kick and twist
vicious spirits of malice and ****
I heard the footsteps
clapclapclapclapclap
and just had time to think
"somebody is running awfully fas-"
blinding lights like fireworks
exploded in front of me
and I was on the pavement
about a  foot away from me
or where I was
what was the cause?
my face hurt, and why all this blood?
my friend Michael
he's a skinny art kid
was on the ground
getting what I can only call
the absolute **** kicked out of him
I mean he just couldn't win
they circled like vultures
these rejects of culture
"What you got? What you got?"
he got
a pair of tight skinny jeans
and a pocket full of artistic dreams
they couldn't squeeze past the seams
and they gave up
when somebody at the bus stop
yelled
"******* SOMEBODY CALL THE COPS!"
they were off
and I've never seen people run so fast
I mean seriously
these guys were hauling ***
these members of the criminal class
not bad
just desperate and lost
and sick of being **** on
so they ******* with us
they didn't even get any money
they just left behind a few bruises
and a cracked lens in Michael's glasses
We went up to my apartment
I knew I wouldn't be pressing charges
those men were indiscriminate targets
and actually finding them seemed far fetched
no instead I put some ***** on a paper towel
and put it on the **** on my arm
I then proceeded to run around the apartment
trying to articulate the burning pain of my arm
but instead it came out something like
"oh **** oh **** ohhh Jesus Christ this really ******* hurts!"
and then we drank more
and I passed out on my bed
fully clothed
my ****** arm exposed
and I fell asleep laughing
because ******* it
I was alive
there is a man
sitting in front of me
drinking some fruity coffee drink or another
with three cellphones
laid out before him
a different color case for each one
pink, yellow, blue
and ever minute or so
one starts to ring
an obnoxious ringtone
but aren't they all?
and he has to figure out which one is ringing
he then talks on the phone
for a few blunt sentences
in a language
which sounds middle-eastern
and I'm thinking
this guy must be
one hundred percent
out of his ******* mind
nuts
because I've always had trouble
keeping up with one cellphone
let alone three of the ******* things
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