The Dream In Which I Stub My Toe And Channel Sam Kinison For The Next Three Minutes. For Joe Milazzo. by James Barrett Rodehaver

because of course it hurts,
and i could almost laugh,
but what really pisses me off is,
i thought i was smarter than this.
i thought i cleared the piece of blasted furniture:
muse for how we forget to be careful,
ironic momentary antithesis of comfort,
god of manic sudden interior redesign.
you know, just because.
the acoustics in this room are perfect for screaming,
but the walls are paper thin,
and my neighbors are into arts and craftiness.
see, they've been making a jet black tally of all my misdeeds
for months now, endurance art,
and i guess they're hoping the landlord
is an art dealer, and a vengeful one.
bad sam kinision faced the world head on,
lungs made of steel,
angry even when laughing.
because the world makes us feel two things at once,
and one of those things is always pain.

James Barrett Rodehaver, an Alabama native son, most often known as "Bear," to those who know him, is a happily married 36-year old poet, author, and editor living with his husband in Dallas, Texas. He's the author of a book of poetry called "Strangely Wonderful," the co-creator and editor of "Not Dead Yet, An Anthology of Survivor Poetry," and has most recently published a two-volume chapbook set of poetry called "Time Travel For Daydreamers," which includes illustrations by Nadia Wolnisty and is published by Cringe-Worthy Poets Collective Press. He is the host of the Vellum Ouroboros open mic at Deep Vellum Books. His favorite color is purple and he wishes he could eat Cajun-style boiled crawfish year-round.