Upper Iowa River by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Violets by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Poetry from the book { The Lion and the Sun} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

              You keep on crying and dying
               Your body begins to fail you
           Societies dream goes up in smoke
        There's nothing here for you anymore
  The morgue awaits you with its smiling people
                Filled with schadenfreude
        You don't always get what you want
        You get what you need (the basics)
The kind of people who get everything they want
                    Aren't worth a damn.

Poetry from the book {The Lion and the Sun} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Poetry from the book {The Lion and the Sun} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

The cashier at the grocery store eyes my food choices with disdain

She always has some snippy comment to make

I arrive at the checkout lane with a 12 inch round cheesecake and a 24 pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, and a package of Twizzlers candy

The lady in front of me asks me if I'm going to be sharing that cheesecake with anyone

"This is my cheesecake lady, you get your own cheesecake, this is breakfast, lunch, and dinner for me

The ladies down several rows, and lanes start picking on me with delight, telling me I should eat better than that

"You ladies need to zip your mouths shut and mind your own business!" "I like to eat a cheesecake in the morning and wash it down with incredibly cheap beer!" "If I ever ate asparagus or broccoli I'd go into a coma!"

This had the effect of making things really bad

I got out of the grocery store minus the Twizzlers they ripped out of my hands and a few bruises

The top of the cheesecake was a little roughed up but still edible in the morning

I go to a new grocery store now

The checkout lady eyes me with some suspicion

Checkout items: Sweet tarts, tootsie rolls, assorted chocolate candies, cola, 8 hot dog buns, 12 hot dogs made of three meat byproducts chicken parts, beef parts, and pig parts.

Poetry from the book {The Lion and the Sun} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Poetry from the book {Bunny Hop} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

        When the last flower falls, who are we
           The big meadow without the cross
                 The one mountain of rain
      Who are we, but the kin of Crazy Horse
             Is the pain in love everlasting.

Poetry from the book {Bunny Hop} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Poetry from the book {The Lion and the Sun} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

                       I want to see you naked
                The real you, the real moonlight
                 The lush lust of your bare skin
              I want to be with you every night
                        For the rest of my life
               I want to paddle into the sunset
                  And watch the curtain fall
       With my arms resting around your body
This goon, this forest dweller loves you with all
                                his heart.

Poetry from the book {The Lion and the Sun} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas
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Poetry from the book {Bunny Hop} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

A knife in the throat to make you clean

Standing amid the circus eating old bread

The monkeys build airplanes and build them to crash

Someday you'll see the entrusted hills

They will meet you in silence and see you in blood

You can't have everything, because everything can become nothing at all

Queen Ann tortured her cripples and butt danced her dwarves

How late can it be to think for ourselves.

Poetry from the book {Bunny Hop} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas