Self-crowned kings and queens
preside over graceless avenues
Lip service is paid
with post-dated checks
Karma chameleons
enter the arena
to be kings for a day
Meat puppets waiting for their close-ups
are oblivious to the shell game
When the thrum of paradise turns to static,
rainbow’s end burns worse
than a coat-hanger abortion
Modern day Nabakovs
gaze at lolitas in paper crowns
marching in a funeral procession
from the depot to the boulevard
Their bodies crack with each step
like whips on cold leather
The camera obscura
loves ripe upstarts
Michael N. Thompson likes bacon, fantasy football and Doctor Who. His poetry has appeared in numerous literary journals including Word Riot, Toronto Quarterly and San Pedro River Review. He is the author of four poetry collections. His fifth, Days Of Swine And Roses, will be released through University Of Hell Press in 2017. Michael is currently at work on a crime fiction novel. www.michaelnthompson.com
In Between Hangovers 