Worse Than It Looks

By Tom Janikowski

Midwestern fictionista Tom Janikowski has crafted a collection of poetry drawn from his experiences working with people who have made bad choices - addicts, convicts, users, and the like. Written over the span of two years on the streets of the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa, the poems include many that appeared at his collaborative poetry site, "the lost beat," where he writes with his cousin, the poet Denise Janikowski-Krewal.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Dec 5, 2013
• ISBN: 9781304686558

Book preview

Worse Than It Looks

worse than it looks

poetry by

Tom Janikowski

worse than it looks

First Edition

Copyright ©2014  Tom Janikowski

ISBN: 978-1-304-68389-2

All rights reserved.  No portion of this book may be reproduced without permission of the author, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

for the ones who made bad choices

moth

the usual fool plays a theremin

and pretty-boy Pinny talks

running talk

fast talk

talk talk

righteously rotting away at the tailor of doom

pretty hand holds a theremin

exercised

exorcized

drop those demons

hold the theremin close

at the tailor of doom

righteously rotting away at the tailor of doom

in a cell-lit

(as lit by cells with protoplasm, ectoplasm, cytoplasm)

(plasmplasm),

cell-lit cell

dropping acid

dropping slow

dropping snow.

and that Irish guy wrote about linnet's wings

but pretty-boy Pinny holds

and never drops

in a cell-lit cell

the usual fool plays a theremin

and the drop comes

faster than he likes it

faster than he thought

in a cell-lit cell

pretty-boy Pinny

walking fast in circles

his talk does the same and all that

running talk

fast talk

talk talk

pretty-boy Pinny

teeth all crumble-licious

crumble-bloody

stink of crumbled mouth

running talk

fast talk

talk talk

righteously rotting away at the tailor of doom

epiphany

best of rumpled nose

talking down, down, until the rumpled nose

loses sight

(as if a nose could see)

well, be my guest

and rub some of that

clan-sanitizer into your hands

claw-fork

claw-foot

claw-hand hands

reach out and claw your way -

claw and cleanse and clear and clay

but I want to say pray

for you want to pray

sanitized claw

sanitizer holy

sanitized soul sanitizer belly

fold your hands and prey

reach out and claw

to claw and lose sight

(as if a nose could see)

claw the holy

claw your way

rumpled nose and run-on holy

clan-sanitizer

sanitized belly

hard-scrabble sacred and praying like dust

hold that

claw-fork

claw-foot

claw-hand hands

and pray like rust

pray

pray

pray

for the holy breaks in and the holy breaks out

and all the world can see

rumpled nose and claw-fork hands

reached out and clawing dust-cake skies

another market, 2012

passed along and passed on fire

crusty lamp-lit mango man

with wild-eyed freak show stare

saw you looking over habaneros

tortillas

pork chins

and jicama

miles and miles and