Read in Gadfly: Rich Writes Home Dear Catherine, It’s spooky. Getting in the car in the dark before sunrise to drive to the riverside to sit. Right here. Spooky cause well, being the end of July so far down south, and after yesterday being hot as hell, then last night so windy and pouring down … Continue reading
John left for work at 7am every morning, never later. Well sometimes later and it upset him when he was late. It didn’t happen too often as he was used to this routine, but it would upset him just the same. John worked all day as hard as he could, being that he’s been working … Continue reading
Homeless News reports the Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson, President and Founder of The Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny says, “Since feminists have gone unchallenged for decades, many have become fascists in pantsuits who tolerate zero dissent.” and waxes eloquent that “The feminists’ fake outrage over what men say is absurd. How about the rights and … Continue reading
I thought it rained more The river runs slowly Low And clear Last afternoon with thick black clouds Wind picking up No relief from swelter Thunder rumbles Like when we were told God’s bowling up there I forget with whom Lightening strikes Pause And BOOM It rained for five minutes How’s that? No relief from … Continue reading
Pride go hide Yourself away Ego we go All the day Reveal yourself At any chance Pride inside Subside No guide To living justly In this world Intent to bow Yet lofty Haughty Self-regard And vanity That’s innermost A need to boast The uttermost Pride so snide And smug your face Can’t stay behind Forever … Continue reading
She wasn’t looking forward to seeing his parents today. Louise hadn’t spent one on one time with them yet, and the way Tom went on about them, she didn’t want to. It seemed Tom had nothing nice to say about them, and her impression was that they were the intolerant types, and self-righteous. Tom always said he was raised “well enough” in … Continue reading
“I can’t do this day,” said the burly man to himself, breathing heavily and laboring to tighten his bow tie. Josh reached in his pocket and pulled out the locket, and turned it in his calloused hands. “I remember your smile.” He stood in the parking lot of St Andrews Chapel 1895, shuffling his feet. … Continue reading
there’s so much in the world that’s depressing that’s depressing there’s so much we hear that’s disappointing that’s disappointing trying to recapture make do for the future there’s so much that’s necessary that’s necessary.
i’m traveling i’m moving i’m hittin the street i’m wandering and traipsing with these itchy feet why stay in one place when there’s so much to see? when i get where i go do i get to find me? i’m roaming i’m trekking right from here to there i’m praying and hoping with hardly a care can’t stay in one place when there’s so … Continue reading
You make me wanna Look in my hat And read the golden plates You make me wanna Run down the street And yell “life is good”! You make me wanna Welcome any challenge And embrace it fully And know that it’s right You make me wanna let out a cackle When you shyly say “fuck” … Continue reading
The rain has devastated the river. To my eyes it’s devastation, but I do know in reality it’s natural. It happens here in spring when the river carries the snow melt from the mountains and the rains make it flood. Since forever. I see it when I walk here. These woods and trails are on floodplain … Continue reading
I was asked by childhood friend and writer, Joanne Best, to participate in The Writing Process Blog Tour. Please take a look at her wonderfully energetic writing here: Joanne Best The Writing Process: 1.) What are you working on? I write poetry and essays regularly, but my main priority is my short fiction collection. It’s called Fairview. This year I submitted … Continue reading
A friend thanked me for not “enabling” him. We discussed how so often in life we get caught up in what we’re doing, and the past rears its ugly head. Mistakes and heartache well up. Regret and pain. It does, right? We’re often demoralized. Held back. This casual thank you came during a time of … Continue reading
what do you hear when other people speak? dog barks alien squeaks crickets chirping babies crying? i’m moving my lips tell me what’s coming out? duck quacks pig grunts hyenas laughing charlie brown’s teacher?
no poo eat poo drink the water toilet water fake food make food not from a bag that’s from a window drive through there and then stop here don’t rinse repeat or leave your seat much indifference little inference wash your hair it shows you care.
i’d walk up a hillside of daffodils and get down on my knees and pick whatever strikes me as perfect like you are i’d hike the trail to the creek that winds deep through the woods where beside me i still hear your footsteps you were here i can feel you on the trail i … Continue reading
bourbon with shaved ice add sugar and fresh mint sprigs pulled out from the ground the sun is hot here spring in full regalia best to be outside drinking something cold it’s the time of year to knock back a few Juleps and then a few more.
It hadda be kismet. How else to explain it? As I looked out the window and saw my father hobbling down the walkway toward my front door, I could only shake my head. Boy he’s got some nerve. And after all these years. When the doorbell rang, I gave sufficient time before answering it. Why not? When … Continue reading
you spout off the ways things oughta be done and specify methodology from your place riding shotgun in the backseat in the sidecar with your hands to stress emphasis waxing steadily so dogmatically on the hows and the whys and the whats and the wheres where’s the when when’s the when? from your place riding … Continue reading
I enjoy getting rejections of my writing and do lots (like now which inspires this bluster). Well, maybe not enjoy it, but I feel satisfied. It’s all part of my grand scheme is how I see it, and it doesn’t take long to bounce back. On the contrary, it becomes time here to get my head … Continue reading
“I told you it was bad.” “Yeh but it’s okay. I don’t mind being here, staying with you.” Laura picked up the pitcher of iced tea from the nightstand and freshened his glass. “I can get more ice and lemon wedges if you want, you need to stay hydrated, that’s what the doctor said.” She handed … Continue reading
my heart bleeds for you but i’m anemic my mind cedes to you i’m catatonic for only this moment a blip on the screen my soul feeds on you but i’m bulimic.
A young girl in fishnet stockings walked by, as in too young for us. Not particularly exotic looking- maybe Italian, could be Jewish. Sometimes you can’t tell. I raised my eyebrows and looked at old Jack, then indicated the girl. “No, I like a shiksa,” he said. “Well, she may be a shiksa.” “No, I mean a pure shiksa.” “Oh, … Continue reading
Where I live ponds interconnect all around I can’t imagine coming home and putting my key in the door and not hearing geese squawk overhead Meadows, rolling hills and forests make up this landscape and one could think the busy world is an illusion while this is not Who’s to say? Solitude takes you in … Continue reading
They were told this was where Great Grandpa learned to fish. Over the years, the twins heard much about him. They were so young when he passed. Just three. Great Grandma said Great Grandpa came down every morning as soon as the sun started to leak over the mountain. Day after day, year after year, he came down without fail. Great Grandma said … Continue reading
Streetlight Magazine Blog
needs and wants and strong desires more is all my life requires wanting needing all the time and slaving craving seems that i am on a quest for what i need to fill this hole too much to feed it never ends the reaching out for something else can’t do without this thirst and hunger … Continue reading
being redundant is easy when there’s nothing new under the sun repeating oneself is natural when there’s only so much to be said i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again that being redundant is easy when there’s nothing new under the sun left now to be said.
hey how’s the weather? that man just ran down the steps and walked out the door to a better place? why didn’t he stay put here? it’s too cold out there and he’s got no coat because it was just summer when the weather changed yeh well that happens now back to winter and he’s … Continue reading
tore up beat down lead balloon gravity all this weight it’s crushing me you cover me push me down sinkhole down low fat elvis long the night too short the day elvis decay face down i stay.
Are you a professional blogger? What does that even mean? Nowadays it’s hard to say. I can’t help but ask as I sit here celebrating my two-year anniversary on petearmetta.com. Pop the cork! Seven-hundred posts later, there’s cause for reflection. Has this behemoth been in vain? This is the seven-hundredth post. I’m growing older and wiser … Continue reading
That lady that power walks with her three dogs yells at them too much. That’s mean. I see her not only walking past my house, but when I’m out and about in other areas of town. She covers a distance! Walking head high with fists up and chest out, her stride is regimented and precise. … Continue reading
The Piker Press Hey, I thought about you and it was quiet and measured and a nice harkening back. I thought about you and feel in my heart I can forgive you. I wish I could’ve sooner. I just need you to know. Back then, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t. I … Continue reading
Maybe one day We both will say Today’s okay But not today My coffee spilt All over me On me it aimed My shirt it stained My car broke down On out of here I walked to work Talked to that jerk That Mr Wick He is a prick He yelled at me A jerk … Continue reading
He called me a loser -since the day I was born. He was uptight and angry -I never knew why. As a child I didn’t understand, not a clue. Him seething and nervous -me looking to run. I hadda learn early to walk on eggshells, and with finesse. I still do. Is it because it’s … Continue reading
Marty hadn’t seen his father since the big blow up. That was almost three years ago. Blow up doesn’t even do justice to how embarrassing and pathetic a scene it really was. But wasn’t that how it always went? With the fighting and yelling and hurt feelings? The modus operandi really. And for as long as … Continue reading
right now here today you’ve no other choice but to carry on and move begin the begin there’s no time like the present to start at the start and move things ahead are there other options here? details i’m missing? or is today the first day of the rest of your life as they say … Continue reading
TENDING AND OTHER POEMS, published in Gadfly
hurry up sunshine (hurry up sunshine) the night it won’t abate bring it on sunshine (bring it on sunshine) i can’t hardly wait lay it on sunshine (lay it on sunshine) why so goddamned thin? pick it up sunshine (pick it up sunshine) and begin again hurry up sunshine (hurry up sunshine) need you on … Continue reading
“Well doc, I think I might take down the bay leaves, that’s a start. I know it’s not a New Year’s resolution per se, but a whole ‘nother year of looking at them isn’t gonna do me a hill of beans of good. I just can’t look at them up there anymore, ya know?” “I … Continue reading
Just released for Valentine’s Day from The New Visionary Press Cooperative Love’s Peripeteias Love’s Peripeteias is an anthology of poetry that covers the gamut of relationship experience. From a relationship’s sunrise to sunset, there is a piece for everyone to enjoy. This is NOT your typical collection of ‘love’ poems, but rather, an eclectic array of personal … Continue reading
kill them with kindness cleanliness is next to godliness bombard them with sadness achiness is next to holiness some sinners they say evildoers do shout! allow them their sheepiness dumminess is next to happiness.
clotted and coagulated and constipated at a loss for words unable to flow nary a trickle stuck in the mud and the throat those golden times are olden times not knowing any better or any worse? ignorance oh such bliss and oh so precious not yet to experience the experiences since experienced unbeknownst to you … Continue reading
Published in the Piker Press “Well I can’t help if it takes time. It does, right?” There were no customers in the store and Eunice had been vacuuming and was now back behind the counter, windexing the display case and fussing around with the jewelry inside. She’d worked here eighteen years and always had a sense … Continue reading
They’d been together for a while and though Betsy felt they got along well enough, she couldn’t put her finger on why she still felt so empty. Was it the carefree way they drove down the road and he sang those lame top forty songs at the top of his lungs? Or maybe how when … Continue reading
(I’ve caused so much damage in the past. It’s come back to haunt me, no TERRORIZE me. Along with unforeseen events. Some things you can’t foresee, right? I know God is punishing me and not letting me move forward, for his own reasons I’m sure. And it’s pressing down and crushing me- I can’t get ahead.) … Continue reading
My day is less sunny without you It’s raining and cloudy and the wind it’s so blustery You took the sunshine the day that you left When you left I still picture your face How it glowed How it shined It’s so bright in my mind I can see How it shined On an overcast … Continue reading
undeniable decriminalization inevitable well is it so bad? it gets you high and mellow and helps people too people who are sick i mean it’s marijuana we just don’t care as much now not like we used to not like the old days when you could go to jail if you had just one joint … Continue reading
Published in the January Piker Press I spend most of my mornings sitting on a park bench. A particular one in Gypsy Hill Park. Now that I’ve quit the rat race and been off the treadmill for awhile, it’s become a regular part of my morning routine. My very early morning routine. There’s a promenade around … Continue reading
No one cared much anymore. The usual suspects who would have caused a ruckus in the past were quiet- evidence of how times had changed. All the former chatter about a “homosexual agenda” now seemed passé, out of date. There was a time when having a man who was single or divorced at the helm of the … Continue reading
Pete Armetta 