Howie Good
THEATRE OF THE VOID
There was a lot of screaming and praying to Jesus. I guess I’m very confused about why this scene. What might make sense in one place might not be recommended in another. It was all night of slam, bang, boom. It bubbled up from the doors, seeped in from the windows. People always want to know is it climate change or is it not? You just look around and see things are totally gone. I’m composing, if not music, sounds like waves on the beach or perhaps wind in the forest.
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At one point I couldn't see for about five minutes. It was the first time that I’ve lost everything. I just let everything go. We don’t know where we are going to sleep tonight. We don’t know anything. The only thing we all cared about was the sun, the moon, and the sky. These are the things that we need to make sure we have in place. I dream of standing ovations. First thing Monday morning, I want to find out why.
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All the shops are empty. What’s disappearing in front of our eyes is the history of this terrible war. It’s like a tornado went in and swept everything up. I was shocked. I didn't think it would happen. Even birds and animals have nowhere to drink water. I saw blood coming out of the seal. People started yelling “Shark!” They told us to keep inside, to be ready for anything. It’s had me spooked for years. Now we're also worried about our houses blowing up. You know how they say you hear the train noise? I heard it.
WHAT TO EAT WHEN SOMEONE DIES
I’m really having a hard time understanding today right now. None of us even tried to step outside. Dave put a shotgun to his chest so we could study his brain. I didn’t like him staring at me. He often talked to himself. Now we’re kind of like: How do we know if he was telling the truth or not? I’m not a big fan of dialogue. What I fill it with will only be known when it comes spilling out. People are left wondering if it's going to be a disaster. There will be others out there who will make connections we haven’t seen. To be honest, we just cook bacon and eggs. But sometimes you need bacon and eggs.
THE REALLY BAD STUFF
I’ve seen the really bad stuff on television. But actually experience it? No. Never. I’m not used to this. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Everything is thrown everywhere. We don't have anything to stop it. I just feel so sad and empty. She was brought to the hospital in the bed of a dump truck, soaking wet. You press a button, an alarm goes off. A lot of laughter, crying, yelling, tears. So few seem to pay any attention. I don’t care what they do as long as fire doesn’t start coming out the windows.
Copyright © Howie Good 2018
Howie Good is the author of The Loser's Guide to Street Fighting, winner of the 2017 Lorien Prize from Thoughtcrime Press, and Dangerous Acts Starring Unstable Elements, winner of the 2015 Press Americana Prize for Poetry.