paranoia flavors my coffee

the world continues
to de-evolve at a rate
i can barely keep up with.

indifferent government,
indifferent police force,
indifferent populace;
this time
the sky is actually
falling.

every day i add another
brick to my wall,
building my bunker,
sign on my front door
states:
trespassers will be shot.

the Lord’s prayer suggests
we forgive those
that trespass against us
and i laugh,
realizing,
i have de-evolved as well.

my mother always
told me to take the high road,
even now as both
the high and the low
are deep under water.

even now i remain isolated
deep in my bunker,
behind brink and stone,
slowly losing my mind,
paranoia flavors my coffee.

when i tele-connect with
my shrink she asks if i
need anything to help,
i presume she means
meds but sometimes
i wonder.

we are deep in a war,
most don’t realize it.
POC know it and
have lived it longer
than the privileged
class will understand.

some days i understand
and only feel an unspeakable
sorrow, some days i
just wonder
what the fuck is going on.

Jack Henry is a writer/editor based in Southern California. Recent publications can be found in Raven’s Cage, Horror Sleaze Trash, Red Fez, Rusty Truck, Dope Fiend Daily, Smoking Typewriter, Fearless, among others, He is also editor of Heroin Love Songs and 1870 Press. A new book, Driving W/Crazy, will be available in the Fall of 2020 from Punk Hostage Press. Read other articles by Jack.