Assimilation
BY JOSEPH WILCOX
i destroy myself
with a slow grind
pressing my body against
the bitter wheel at any sign
of sharp success
polishing away the burrs
of hope and joy until
i am pebble
forgotten
in the crush of boots
Passion
BY JOSEPH WILCOX
at easter brunch
as we douse the bulge
of egg casserole
and sweetbread
in our stomachs
with fresh hot coffee
like a post-coital cigarette
my brother
extolls the virtues
of the stock market
how he cheers
the ups and downs
as he buys
low
and his millions
grow
he pauses
righteousness rising
to rail
at the cross
of his tax burden
the unconstitutional waste
of government taking
his money
and the onus
of minimum wage
that shrouds his body corporate
to my sister
who earns $15
an hour
retail
Factious
BY JOSEPH WILCOX
don’t you see?
if we are fighting each other
we are not fighting them
if we are fighting each other
we won’t go to the shed
to find our pitchforks
would you like to borrow
one of mine, friend?
Joseph Wilcox studied at the Jack Kerouac School, started a theater company, and raised a family in Colorado. He lives in Aurora where he writes science fiction and fantasy, and poetry in the sleepless hours of the night.
south broadway press 