Author: Daniel Thompson
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Control
It’s when the rattle of life Like a car dragging a chain Strikes combustible thoughts In my brain That they ignite this fire Charring me deep into my soul And I know I’m a man on a wire About to lose control Sometimes it’s seconds, minutes Other times a day, maybe a week But the…
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The scars tell the story.
I can’t remember the last time I was able to just breathe. I haven’t had a home in 5 years (that’s mine). My mental struggles make me feel like I’ve climbed Everest at least a dozen times. All to the enthusiastic cheers of crowds screaming out, “But you still need therapy.” And I’ve amassed so…
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Eventually, those who come looking for me will find this.
If you’re looking for me because you want to ask me the same questions I hear every anniversary of the Kenosha protests, I hope you read this someday. For one, let me be clear, I don’t give a shit about fame. I didn’t like being known. Naturally, I’m an anxious introvert. Even picking up my…
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To the last lover I was an *sshole to.
To the last lover I was an asshole to, you were right, and I was wrong. I wasn’t who I thought I was either. I could try to tell you about how I wish you’d met me when I was early-spring depressed, instead of start-of-winter depressed, and all of that. They’re just words now, though,…
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My Old Friends
On weekends, I go to barrooms and see my old friends. We stare at each other behind various colors of glass. I have a memory with each one. Good ones. I remember the ones I loved most. And I recall quickly which ones I only tolerated. Every once in a while, I feel their invitation…
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As I Lie Here Alone
As I lie here alone, sometimes I think about the little boy from Racine who used to do the same. That kid would be in his bed dreaming without sleeping. He’d say things he’d hoped one day to repeat to his kids. He wondered who he would marry some day, and if it was the…
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Thank you for not eating my head.
I try really hard, every time I remember you, to think of some sweet thing I remember you’d do. But, unfortunately, there’s not enough memory to illuminate more cave paintings of a happy you and me. Instead, I think about how every female praying mantis chomps away at the head of her caught, hopeless romantics…
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Human Heat
There is no reason why you and I happen to collide other than that there is limited space we both occupy. It’s not a magnetic pull or even Love working its will. It’s just that your warmth is as comforting as raindrops on a windowsill. I don’t love you; You don’t love me. We just…
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The Almighty starts over
The Almighty watched as his first creation killed itself in front of Him. The populations of all of the collective worlds in its closely-clustered galaxies inflicted nothing but war and other horrors on each other at the end of its life. And to be honest, a small part of Him felt relief seeing it go…
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The Recluse
Steam rises from the blue coffee cup, the liquid inside a caramel-colored blend of sugar and cream that matches the tone of the hand holding the handle. He looks out the back window over the sink as Gatsby, his mid-sized furry companion, waits patiently for him to put bits of meat in his bowl and…