Although poet Robert O’Neal’s modesty was so offended by my glowing review of one of his chapbooks a couple of years ago that he requested that I not review his future writings, I nonetheless can’t help but mention his latest effort, A Cosmic Clown Toe-to-Toe with the Demiurge. Why? Because it offends me that Robert is a largely unheralded poet living in the shadows of lesser talents and his pathological modesty doesn’t help. So, if you like kick-ass, razor-sharp poetry, it’s on sale now, so why not send $6 to Lockout Press, POB 86 Friendship IN 47021.
Here’s a sample to tickle your membrane:
A Cosmic Clown’s Recurring Crown of Thorns
to Lance Ponder
“All religions are sublime to the ignorant, useful to the politician,
and ridiculous to the philosopher.” — Lucretius
i roll my eyes at the results of a recent poll — atheists
will never be elected to public office because they lack
belief in the supernatural, & Mormons are space invaders
with ectoplasm
dripping from their fangs. i wait
for a beatnik dressed
in beard & denim to storm
the podium, kick the shit
out of sheep, be they Jew or
Muslim or Christian, reveal
the hypocrisy
of lip service to “one god.”
He envisions a day when
the gods of this world cease their squabbling;
at least, long enough to pardon the human condition.
