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Eugene Melnyk Mar 2015
The man woke up.

He walked to his refrigerator hoping to find last nights left over veal, but he doesn't.
He thought maybe it's a sign veal is bad in the morning, so he made his coffee and sat down to watch the news.
Linda Sparoski was on talking about Gun rights.
"I kind've want a gun, but it probably wouldn't be the best idea."
He kept watching until he heard someone at the door.
Paranoid, he crept up to the peep hole.
Peering through he saw an elderly woman delivering what looked to be like a package.
"I wasn't expecting anything... **** it must **** to be her age"
He waited until the frail old woman made her way back to the UPS truck and drove away.
He went outside to pick up the box, only to find it very light. Much lighter than he expected.
On the outside scribbled in blue pen was "The man's name" so he knew it was for him.
He saw it was taped up pretty good, kind've how a child wraps a Christmas present.
He grabbed his kitchen knife.
"Scissors are like double knifes, except you don't need a cutting board."
He put the knife back and grabbed a pair of scissors.
"Scissors are ****** double knifes."
He put the scissors back and grabbed the knife.

When he returned to the box, he seemed to stare at the handwriting for quite some time.
He began to cut into the box.
On removal of the layers of scotch tape was a little note before the rest of the box could be open.
"Promise me?"
He was really confused now.
"I need more coffee"
Chugging his third cup, the man returns to the box.
Determined to open it.
He lifts the ***** keeping the pieces of cardboard box cube shaped, and begins to look inside.
The man sees photographs stacked on top of a few letters.
"Possibly something underneath."
As he dug through he saw a picture of himself dressed as Captain America on Halloween.
He tries remembering that Halloween but just can't quiet do it.
"I was never Cap.. "
He dug through more.
Found pictures of old beach houses he vaguely remembers, some pictures almost looked like a sonic drive through.
Stomach growl.
"Last nights quesadilla"
The man went to his fridge, with no luck of finding this cheesey goodness.
In fact his fridge was empty.
He doesn't remember it being empty.
He starts thinking about Halloween.
The man kicks the box under his coffee table, and stumbles to bed, even though it is only 6:47 pm.
Dreams of sand.
Dreams of sand.
Dreams of water.
Dreams of her.

The man woke up.

He heads to his coffee ***.
He has not made coffee yet.
He heads to his refrigerator to find last nights left over lasagna.
"When did I make that? 2 weeks-ago-ish?"
He does not find lasagna.
His coffee is done brewing.
He walks away without a cup to find the box.
The news was still on. Linda Sparracci was on talking about the man's town.
She said that the man's town was experiencing the worst drought since two thousand and sixteen.
"What year is it?"
The man tries to find a calendar but only finds twelve.
"So it could be 2025, 2026, 2028... Wait."
He deducted that it must be 2026, for this calendar had the most dates circled, and he has felt quite busy recently.
The man then fell.
When he came too he was on the couch.
It was snowing out.

Deciding it must be around December  time, he goes throughout his home looking for objects to wrap up and give to his family.
He finds a box.
The box has a note on the outside
"Promise me"
Without looking through the box, he wraps it up with what he can find.  
Thinking of where to send it, he thinks of the first address he can remember, presumably his parents house, and sends the box off.
"Captain America... "
The man decides to watch Duck Dynasty season 34 for the first time, without seeing the prior 33 seasons.
The man passes out.
Dreams of white.
Dreams of red.
Dreams of death.

The man woke up.

He walked to his refrigerator hoping to find last nights left over veal, but he doesn't.
He thought maybe it's a sign veal is bad in the morning, so he made his coffee and sat down to watch the news.
Linda Spurokik was on, talking about the new Captain America movie.
"I was Captain America once.."
The man gets up to feed his dog.
The man does not have a dog anymore.
The man sits down.
Halloween 3 comes on the television.
He remembers getting her roses, because she was mad he didn't want to go trick or treating.
They ending up going trick or treating anyway.
She didn't like the roses.
The man tries to imagine what Michael Meyers must've felt like.
Being cast so many times over because of his creepy plastic face.
"I bet it was really hard to find other work though..."
The man was unsettled with this thought and turned off the television.
With nothing to more to do, he crawls to bed, even though it is only 6:24 pm.
No dreams
Just blackness.

The man woke up.

He heard someone at the door.
Paranoid, he crept down the stairs to the window.
Peering through he saw a young man delivering what looked to be like a package.
"I wasn't expecting anything... **** it must **** to be that young in this day and age"
He waited until the man made his way back to the USPS truck and drove away.
He went outside to pick up the box, only to find it very light. Much lighter than he expected.
On the outside scribbled in blue pen was "The man's name" so he knew it was for him.
When he opens the box he finds a picture of himself dressed as Captain America and she was beside him.
"Even trying to look ugly she was beautiful."
The man begins to cry a bit.
Gently places the picture down, he digs through more.
He finds an old Valentine's Day card.
"Signed your's forever, love you so much"
The man puts the contents of the box back, and gently pushes it under the table.
He turns the television on and Linda Sadok is on talking about a fire.
"3 dead, 2 injured with 3rd degrees burns along 85% percent of their body"
The man states "****" and turns the television off.
"I'd rather be one of the three than one of the two"
The man grabs the last pack of tostitos he can find, and chows down for awhile.
The man dozes off.  

A few hours later the man awakes.
He house is quieter than normal, but he normally has all the washing machines running so he thinks "all good."
Walking to his refrigerator, he finds it filled with Mexican Taco Hot Pockets.
Not wanting to get fat, he rejects this refrigerator and demands a new one.
He does not get it.
Hot pocket.
He walks to his coffee table.
It is very long.
His box is gone.
Befuddled, he walks to his hallway to check under the door.
Upon opening the door, his house leads to another one of his houses.
It is the same house though, it's just his other one.
Walking to the refrigerator, he finds it filled with ingredients for fresh pesto and Texas toast.
Thinking maybe it would upset his stomach. He throws the fridge down his garbage disposal.
On returning to his living room, he sees a man.
This man is talking to the man about life.
Talking about how long could one go on for in the same space.  
This man tells the man, maybe you should **** yourself.
Get out.
The man has never liked suicide.
But given the preposterous conditions of his life, he thinks about it.
This man says a hand full of advil or a few too many sleeping pills could do it.
The man says no.
"I can't leave, I'm not done yet.
Then, this man asks what the man has not finished yet.
"I don't remember..."
This man tells the man, that he is not Captain America and disappears.
The man disagrees.
"Photo evidence"

The man wakes up.

He finds the contents of the box sprawled all over his chest.
He had fallen asleep on the couch.
He hears her say goodnight.
He says I love you.
There is no one there.
He crawls to bed, and it is 2:34 am.
He cannot sleep.
This man returns to him.
This man asks the man if he had finished what he wanted to finish.
The man says no.
This man asks why once more.
"She's still gone, i'm not letting go"
This man says the man already has.
The man rolls over in his bed.
This man says you've been done here for awhile.
The man pretends to be asleep,
motionless, yet awake for hours.

The sun never came up, because he didn't want it too.
The fridge was always empty, because he didn't want to eat.
The box would appear, because he wanted it too.
She was gone, because he knew she was gone.
He stayed, and kept resealing and opening that box. Day in day out.
Surviving healthy off of nothing at all.

He never left.
Not poetry
Not poerty
Olga Valerevna Jul 2013
:
The weight of what I'm carrying is heavier with you
the bruises on my back are turning black as I turn blue
This body once a ticking clock is losing track of time
and now the only hands I hold are breaking both of mine
The keeper of my tendencies is shattering my bones
subjecting them to rulership of everything he owns
The only things I haven't lost are pieces of my head
the thoughts forced into dormancy because of what you said
And they have been my hiding place for longer than I know
though entropy displaces me whenever I do go
The journey back to where we are is always just the same
exasperating both of us despite what you can claim
I want to leave and so I stay, my reasoning will prove
that it is here, in front of you that I dare not to move
.
Sincerely
Vince Chul'Theg Oct 2013
Bible
Cigarette
31 candles
Death Certificate
Eulogy
Memorial Service Program
Obituary
May 2012 letter from Erin
Two crocodiles
African Coffee
A Crucifix
Crucifix
Avett Brothers

Jade's love
Rob's love (a Lion's love)

Ashes

You and your favorites

So:
Go Ahead
Chuck tonight's stardust
Through the screen door

I don't mind my freckle's
Illuminati

Confirm:
Scar tissue's
a weaker skin
seal, yes?

Your ashes in my hand
Beneath a bag of
Japanese sand

Same fate:
Ocean

A USPS
Worker slapped
the "Cremated Remains"
Sticker on the box of
You

$25 and 8,000 miles

You in a box

I lay you on
Bob Marley's
Freedom Song

Item by item
I cry

A scar tissue
tear
    and tears

I'll learn to dance with
A limp like
Anne Lamott does

I  still crave much more
Of you than I need

But:
Who knew palm fronds
Are lined in metal too?

Memories that
Don't fade    (illuminate)
Don't stale    (crisp)
Don't mold   (cleanse)

So
Attach a bag of dust
to a day dream's balloon

Send you off to my
fondest memories

To the sea
To the sea
To the sea
Qualyxian Quest Dec 2022
The obscure ones are me searching
United States Postal Service
He tracked Russian subs
I'm open, empty, waiting

The Universities have Charles Darwin
I have stranger than we can possibly imagine
Mr. Markson has poetry
5th volume deliverating

To learn from my mistakes
To not give up
To endure
Devastating

Out there?
In here?
Above? Within?
Resonating

             On the Lookout.
Qualyxian Quest Mar 2023
The obscure ones are me searching
United States Post Office
He tracked Russian subs
I'm open, empty, waiting

The Universities have Charles Darwin
I have stranger than we can possibly imagine
Mr. Markson has poetry
5th volume deliverating

To learn from my mistakes
To not give up
To endure
Devastating

Out there?
In here?
Above? Within?
Resonating

             On the Lookout.
james nordlund Aug 2020
In it's six ring circus, wrapped up today at the rnc,
to little fanfare, for its competing conservative alt-
'Convention on Founding Principles', fared better.
As I told everyone in 2015, we'll be lucky if ****
doesn't go Caligula on US, declaring himself god,
for now he's saying "the election results might not
be known for over a year", and "the election is
rigged", while he and his rumpettes do everything
they can to rig it, stopping USPS, Voter ID laws,
decreasing voting days, times, polling places, etc..

Those Ridin' with Biden did far better, culminating
in Kamala's great speech before rnc's sunset eve'.
She decried the Black "vigilantes and extremists",
who did the looting and arson, criminals, for n'er
will crime be emancipation through to liberation,
as organized crime, Ebony and ivory, Black and
white supremacies, project it is, as they divide,
conquer this nation in e'r more perfect harmony.
Only Black Lives Matter can stop that **** of
Utin re-installation top plank in his own platform,

for, the rnc's platform, made up of megalomania
enablement and nothing more, was moot there.
This is just like before the 2016 election, BLM,
expropriating political coverage from Dems,
made them look subservient to the Black lobby.
Also, we're seeing the same from linos, dinos,
sinos, ainos, ginos, who helped illegally install Utin's
**** into the Black House in '16, mass-******,
mayhem, looting in Kenosha, WI, aflame, more
of the same, "electoral politics don't matter",

the name of their narcissistic, nihilistic game,
demanding they get the coverage and $ that Dems
get, instead. Remember, if you didn't vote Hillary,
you voted **** into the Black House, for the bi-
polar axi of global power, not-see repub and
totalitarian, the unpowers that unbe, and all 23
flavors in this baskin 'n robbins of supremacy, also
the global oligarchy, Utin, it's head, and all traitors.
Be most pained by the future that wasn't, or be
ending complacency, apathy, loss, occupy the vote.

You see, before O'bama gave as much to repubs
as he could, and the multi-media conspiracy, civil
wrongs movement, NAACP, etc., helped make the
tea party, to justify Black supremacy and their
genocide of non-repub newborns to men (for the
klueless klucking ****, republican conspiracy
and the rich, thru killing their natural competition),
Ebony, ivory had been working together for half a
century, liquidating ases, assets of masses for $,
power, yet it's humanity's hour, we can stop it, vote.
Inspired by quote of Søren Kierkegaard...': "The most painful state of being is remembering the future, particularly the one you'll never have"; I'm allowing my poetry to be read by anyone anytime.  Just so you know, getting rid of 'zero tolerance' in schools is the next thing that Ebony is contracted to deliver to ivory; don't let organized crime destroy our kids even earlier than they do now, defend it.  Thanx for all you All do; have a pleasant morn'   :)   reality
Qualyxian Quest Apr 2023
To be remembered with love
The one and only heaven
John 1:1
Amos 3:7

Reading about the Jesuits
Getting too many speeding tickets
Trying to slow down
Trying to speed up

Long term, long term game
Surely female priests
Freedom from the East
Servant of the Secret Flame

Ordinary lonesome
Thank you for my boys
Emptiness employs
Chicago, not Notre Dame

               Red Pine!
Qualyxian Quest Jul 2023
Feelings of grandiosity
I hit the mystic flight
Highly, highly sensitive
Aiming toward the Light

Highly, highly anxious
At the edge of terror
Yo soy un theonerd
And I am a secret sharer

Battle back today
Yes USPS
Dawn goes down hey hey
Probably won't see her I guess

Women are the mystery
The agony. The Fire.
He can pay your mortgage
But I can take you higher

               solitary bird
Qualyxian Quest Jul 2023
I have religious obsessions
Very, very American
Tryin' to break free
Ain't doin' too well

Have not been to Mexico yet
Have been to Nara
Wedding in Tokyo
And Tel Aviv, Israel

My children not baptized
Nietzsche says God died
I liked Malahide
Ain't no tongue can tell

Quiet little libraries
USPS
Annihilation my best guess
But with the Rebel Yell

          Ay! Ay! Ay!
Qualyxian Quest Jun 2023
Slowly Overthrow
      placements
            wait
Qualyxian Quest Jul 2023
Unable to be happy
Hot and sticky sweat
Some cannot remember
I cannot forget

54 years old
Falling, falling, falling
River Eden, Wetheral
Hearing London Calling

Tired, solo sadness
Still USPS
When I disappear
Near her wedding dress

                Guess.
Justin S Wampler Nov 2021
I see her every now and then, always briefly.
She's busy these days. Holiday season. Peak.
The little white van is gone before I know it,
she's in and out of it in a flash of packages.
A blizzard of letters.

She delivers them precisely, but not rigidly.
She flows, dances with deliveries.
She carries Christmas cards and bills,
her arms full of presents come early.
She brings pen pals to fruition,
she brings eviction notices.
She dances with deliveries.

I smile and watch,
idly sifting through my new envelopes.
Bill from my therapist, local tax reminders,
coupons for the hardware store.
Oh, and a birthday card from my Aunt!

I want to ask the woman in the little white van
if there's anything else for me. A letter from Dad maybe.
Foolishness.

Maybe I'll start buying more things for myself,
making sure to ship them USPS. Little tchotchkes,
trinkets or what have you, it wouldn't matter.
Just to have her dance my way more often.
Anais Vionet Jul 2020
arrgh!. Zoom didn’t connect? - more tech issues
USPS can’t deliver any more - Trump's America!
I wasn’t dragged & dropped - is wireless down?
no Facebook notifications? - ok, who uses that
My image wasn’t swiped! - I knew my hair was..
My email was returned? - call that Alphabet guy
No Amazon deliveries. - a probable traffic issue
FedEx hasn’t arrived! - there must be a mistake
I didn’t get pinned? - maybe there’s a pandemic
I wasn’t upvoted. - I question the entire process
No iMessages - maybe the upgrade was buggy
No likes? - is it me or am I seeing patterns here
a pattern poem about connections
Qualyxian Quest Dec 2022
Gratitude for my son tonight
Gratitude despite the dread
I hope he will remember me
When I am long gone dead

Not much hope for the Americans
But I like the USPS
Soon time to go
Off like a prom dress

Her hair was really beautiful
A kind of cinnamon brown
Silence in the Night
Not a man of much renown

        Oxford Town! Oxford Town!
Lawrence Hall Sep 2021
Lawrence Hall
Mhall46184@aol.com  
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com

                           Is William Shatner Going to Deliver
                              my Overdue Book from Amazon?

-William Shatner is reportedly going to space in Jeff Bezos’ civilian space rocket | The Independent

Shipped with USPS Now expected
September 24 - September 25
We’re very sorry your delivery
is late. Most late packages arrive in a day.
If you have not received your package by
September 25, you can come back here
the next day for a refund or replacement.
Tracking ID: 9341989671004370746008
Wednesday, September 22 2:37 AM
Package left an Amazon facility.
Humble, TEXAS US 12:58 AM
Package left the carrier facility.
Humble, TX US Tuesday, September 21
11:30 AM Package arrived
at an Amazon facility. Humble, TEXAS US
Carrier picked up the package.
Times are shown in the local timezone.
Nobody else seems much interested.
Drab Sep 7
Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, some slime.
You go USPS!
Note = the note, the number......(it's Jenny's).....pardon me, exorcising some demons.....
Qualyxian Quest Dec 2022
The reason for all these poems?
Loneliness unbroken
Near then far then near
USPS

Any chance she understands?
Any chance she ...
Any chance?
Guess.
Qualyxian Quest Jul 2023
Obsessions. Confessions. Aggressions.
                          USPS
                              1
Qualyxian Quest Sep 2023
All religions create right wing fanatics
Slowly guacamole
Endurance
Solitude

Ancient monasteries
Quiet libraries
Hot baths
Susan in the ****

Hath the rain a father?
Mr. David Markson
Gonna reread Moby ****
Musical interlude

USPS
t.d.w.
3737
family feud
Qualyxian Quest Apr 2023
So probably my attraction to religion
Is a delusion
Because I am afraid
Afraid of dying

Empty churches are quiet
No fundraising
No dead raising
No lying

Solitary
Fatherhood
USPS

         Still Trying.
Qualyxian Quest Mar 2023
Black birds flying yesterday
Huskies on my walk
Zeph with puppy energy
The Cardinal gives his talk

Anguish for the animals
The Sacred and the snakes
The Eagle 106.9
The Tyger of William Blake

Nikki at the gas station
Chelsea, Chelsea twice
Arthur Edens in Milwaukee
I'm gonna roll the dice

Fr. Reginald Foster
Latinist to Popes
Timothy Dolan is hopeless
Amber is hidden hope

               USPS
Qualyxian Quest Feb 2023
Revolutions begin hidden
Away from the center of things
Maybe District 13
Maybe USPS

Invisible threads connect
Outdoor basketball courts
Indoor volleyball
Bump. Set. Spike.

If you go to Dublin
Might meet an Irish setter
Probably can't forget her
Ain't gonna work on Maggie's Farm

Like a Wheel
Gonna spin it
Twin it
Keep her safe from harm

             Better sound the Alarm.
Qualyxian Quest Dec 2022
2 female friends
Support from my dad
Brothers still alive
Young sons sung
The poems continue to come

Silence
Coincidence
USPS
She's calm now
Zephyr
Alex
ChiCity
Toledo
Charlotte
Seattle
Reno
Taipei

Bud­dhamind in Bangkok
Francis Pope

               un pequito hope
Qualyxian Quest Jun 2023
We forward in this generation
Touch generations before
Touch generations after
Chicago. Baltimore.

Bounce pass to Alex
He plays Kendrick Lamar
Johnny Cash, USPS
Exoplanet star

Patientia
Fireflies at night
One curious email
2 green lights

I am a taxi service
Which is ok by me
Stockholm in the summer
Beauty Baltic Sea

                   1937
                   2033

                     tea
Qualyxian Quest Jun 2023
Stay local
   USPS
     tdw
Qualyxian Quest Jun 2023
At times a bit too fragile
Need, the need to cope
Chinese hermits
Japanese Pope

Movies. Yes, movies.
Summer 2023
Maybe Irish Eyes
Maybe destiny

SJW
Loyalty Loyola
Our way of proceeding
A Camry, not a Toyota

USPS
Slowly. One at a time
Nachos, buttered popcorn
Cranberry juice with lime

               Please listen, I'm ...
Qualyxian Quest Jun 2023
Living in the love of the common people
But watching for demagogues
Silent Olive Buddha
Childhood Lincoln logs

My poetry is simple
Rhyme, alliteration
Try to get some sleep
Take my medication

Dr. Robert Coles
When I was at JMU
Michigan State University
His papers I one day view

Graced but damaged life
Guadalupe green
Gratitude, USPS
Eyes closed, Things Not Seen

                 Unus Mundus.
Qualyxian Quest Jun 2023
One must go on working
And one must have patience
Patience for Arrival
Help in 3000 years

Summer 2023
USPS. DVD.
Misty rain in me
Calms my future fears

Little black cell phone
Siena. Florence. Rome.
Gas station mountain home.

                    Appears.

                         Ears.
Qualyxian Quest Jun 2023
Diary entries or poems?
Is there really a difference?
Fireflies tonight
Thinking of Syriana

Not much travel lately
USPS
Bruschetta, Caesar salad
Never been to French Guyana

Have been to Aix en Provence
Walked the beach in Nice
She took off her shoes
Sting and the Police

54 and forming
Now movies more than books
Chicago style pizza
Chicago moves my rooks

                     Check.

— The End —