cover image: a Steven Smith foto, detail of Mother Dwarf Smith’s Gotcha

 

Death Before Drawing

Sometimes it’s one step away
From rearing its ugly head.

That Oni Mask.
That Beelzebub
In the pages of God fearing comic books.

It’s drawn into panel
After panel until the whole story
Of intent and the imaginary hero
Is completely lost to me.

All villains just fade
To dry blotches.
The timing couldn’t be better
Because there was a slight
Glimmer of hope disturbing the artist’s perspective.

He almost forgot to work on
The dialog between victims and saviors.

* * *

 

Frankie Metro is the Head Non-Fiction and Associate Fiction editor at Red Fez Publications, where his column “The Left Handed Smoker” runs monthy. He is also The Chemist at the online lit journal The Meth Lab and holds no affiliation with Black Bloc Anarchists.


“Streets of the Pan Americano Nightmare III” comes from The Anarchist’s Blac Book of Poetry by Frankie Metro, published 6/12/2012 by Crisis Chronicles Press. To order, send $7 US to 3344 W. 105th Street #4, Cleveland, OH 44111.


Frankie Metro — photo courtesy of FM