Amphora

The Intrusive Thoughts that Keep me Up at 3:07 am 

 

There are many answers, 

But we don’t want the questions to them.

For example: 

When will the world end? 

Do we want to know why? 

Is it nobler to suffer the Zombie Virus 

Or the atomic bomb? 

Or should we just let the sun burn out? 

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Melted Neon Lights and The Sound of Saints

 

Let’s go and get the story twisted! 

She hung her banner over the banister in a declaration of false victory. 

I called up the local graveyard, 

I remember being dead and alive, because I don’t trust my own eyes. 

Let’s see how many plots need filling. 

We can string up the neon and build a distraction from the truth. 

Let’s praise the lesson of our inner aggression and worst impulses, 

Until we purge the rage; just like everything we do, it is second best. 

But when number one is 86ed, 

Who really cares? 



 

Closing Time at an All Night Diner

 

The crowed echoed the clatter;

As the last few hopes and dreams filtered out the door, 

The owner turned the key and shut it tight. 

And it became a pocket dimension in the distance-

Down on Third Street and Sycamore Avenue. 

Somewhere a siren screams against the pitch black night. 

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The Great Wide Open

 

The dividing line is held as silent rule, 

A holy writ passed from the word of the elder gods to man’s ears. 

Blue goes here; Pink goes here. 

It must be this way, or else the fabric of society will fray and shred. 

And at birth each of us is given a color, 

Each shapeless blob of interests and limits limited based on this law. 

Until we realize that law never actually existed.

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Bio:

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Quinn Crook is a nonbinary writer. Their works can be found in Sledgehammer Lit, Celestine Magazine, Black Poppy Review, and Bombfire Lit. They can often be found haunting local coffee shops on the quest for the world's best latte.