Punk Poem
mike explained that pollock is a bad movie
because it argues that art can save one’s life
it can’t
get sushi
paint the sushi
all art is punk art, asshole
music, poetry, painting
everything says fuck it
i was here
what the hell does mike know anyway
death is a diy experience
a flower petal to the metal
the decline and fall of a feeling
paint it black
paint it bloody
punk is as punk does
hold that balloon up to the sunset
can’t get no distraction
turn the music up
this is a god dream
god is not punk but dreams are
the whole world is a stage and punk is not an act my
problem with pollock is that when he killed himself he
brought another person into the void with him is it
just me or is there not enough
goddamn paint on this goddamn painting?
out of the house and down on my luck
it takes a true poet
to never fall in love
my weariness amazes me
go away, i’m bored
wait
not anymore
do not take me to a hospital
let it bleed
you ain’t nobody til somebody kills you
please, kill me
hmu if you’re ever in hell
the night is dark and in my blood
let it flood
you don’t know what you got til it’s gone
and you don’t know who you are until you are
different
be different
if only i was more punk
is the most punk thought i’ve had today
hey, i’m back
and i’m disgusting
cancel that bottle of wine
i want to fight with you instead
happy valentine’s day
happy 4th of july
happy birthday
i need charcoal and chalk, stat
viva la punk
viva el diablo
somewhere havin a laugh
they say god hates rock n roll
that’s ok because rock n roll hates god
the show must not go on
ladies and gentleman, fuck off
go home
force quit the farce
dark is the light, dark is the ground
you ain’t gonna go far kid
all western minds go to hell
everything is pointing down
got a burning feeling in ya?
scream it into history
the beauty and the blood are glistening
fuck everyone who isn’t listening this is
me, honey
yearn!
so what if the western mind is a trap door
life’s not worth living without a little fall
i’ll dig my grave in the sky when i’m done
many think rock and roll is about freedom
or love or sex
but it’s not
rock and roll is about death
painting is about death
poetry is about death
and death is the blob
I had a dream I worked
at a lemonade stand in the desert
but if the world is full
of lemonade stands
punk shall bring them the desert
Kyle Seamus Brosnihan is a Filipino-American poet and playwright. Raised in Nebraska, he now lives in New York. He received his MFA in Poetry from Brooklyn College in 2022. His poetry has been published in HAD, Peach Magazine, The Mantle, Interpret Magazine, and elsewhere.