"Planet B," "J/King JC," and "Dancing at the Dawn of the Ball"
Planet B
What happens when chaos becomes beautiful?
When the lightning falls,
when the old guard topples,
when the broken bell tolls
for the final time?
What happens when dreams fail…
for the piper, for the pusher,
for the parasite class?
What happens when the blood
starts pouring
through the streets?
When the oil spills,
when the currency crashes,
when the ash
of empire
is shoved
down the throat
of Judas?
What happens when the tables turn
and the cries
about wolves
are all silenced?
J/King JC
I will stride
w/confidence
displaying competence
through all hours
of my day
skipping around
muttering the most basic
mantras
& pulling them off as holy
& then (of a sudden
after smoking)
I’ll grow
in the deepest degrees of paranoia
w/my khaki and silver
disposition
moods & subtle shifts
of diplomacy (on &/or off/under
the table)
Pick up your feet
when you’re walking
when you’re dancing
when you’re levitating
when you’re at one atop water
(any mention
of ascension)
but who am I
to spit in this river
when there’re still
a thousand + one sinning souls
crying like babes
to be saved?
Dancing at the Dawn of the Ball
If ever there were
a time (& place/spatial awareness)
to tie your own shoelace
or get/mend your life
straight (& set in order)
now would be the perfect cue to act
final offer
before it’s all written off
as a failure
I only give advice (when prompted)
that I had to earn/learn/acquire myself
I don’t just run my mouth
for pleasure
nor do I care
to cause/create (or even stir
a single lick
of drama)
but I’d rather
spend a long season
vomiting forth
the poisons of truth
than watch you
surrender
& bow before
your own death bed
(ruined in deceit
& disrepair)
Sleeping w/Moebius
waking no longer
w/a crypt (creature) keeper
called as Thanatos
holding space (safe or otherwise)
for all ten (righteous) rings/tolls
of karma’s bell
Scott Thomas Outlar originally hails from Atlanta, Georgia. He now resides and writes in Frederick, Maryland. His work has been nominated multiple times for both the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. He guest-edited the Hope Anthology of Poetry from CultureCult Press as well as the 2019-2023 Western Voices editions of Setu Mag. Selections of his poetry have been translated and published in 15 languages. He has been a weekly contributor at Dissident Voice for the past ten years. More about Outlar's work can be found at 17Numa.com.