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John Dorsey

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By
1995

wolfgang & i burn a joint in the woods
behind his grandfather’s house

like stoned vampires who haven’t slept in ages
we laugh as his girlfriend falls
into a dry creek bed
while attempting to walk
across a log
in jelly shoes.



Poem for Ida in 1986

gyrating shuttles like dandelions
their screams blowing away in the wind
mashed potatoes from an ice cream scoop
ice cream from an ice cream scoop
sweaty hands
no metal detectors
no bomb threats
the captain of the football team
stayed in the closet
& died inside

everyone was lonely

the occasional fist fight
solved everything & nothing
that went unsaid.


John Dorsey lived for several years in Toledo, Ohio. He is the author of several collections of poetry, including Teaching the Dead to Sing: The Outlaw's Prayer (Rose of Sharon Press, 2006), Sodomy is a City in New Jersey (American Mettle Books, 2010), Tombstone Factory, (Epic Rites Press, 2013), Appalachian Frankenstein (GTK Press, 2015) Being the Fire (Tangerine Press, 2016) and Shoot the Messenger (Red Flag Poetry, 2017),Your Daughter's Country (Blue Horse Press, 2019), Which Way to the River: Selected Poems 2016-2020 (OAC Books, 2020), and Afterlife Karaoke (Crisis Chronicles, 2021). His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and the Stanley Hanks Memorial Poetry Prize. He was the winner of the 2019 Terri Award given out at the Poetry Rendezvous. He may be reached at archerevans@yahoo.com.
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