Micropoetry by Mark Young | #thesideshow

elliptical automata

The level of antibodies infants
get from thin plates of brass
drops over time. Greater efficacy
comes from sheets of 24 carat
gold inscribed in Etruscan.

*

The Twitter communities of both
Taylor Swift & One Direction fans
like goats. A generation completely
comfortable with remix culture
becomes a majority of the electorate.

*

I had a sudden hankering for
magnesium: & even though
no copyright infringement was
intended, all hell broke loose.

*

bun(ra)ku hay(na)ku

Seeing what’s in
behind the
words

is
like visiting
a Bunraku play

where the roles
have been
reversed

&
the puppets
are wearing black.

Prisonnier mordu par des chiens

We pro-
claim
innocence; but
so much gone on
that we are
part of

party to
partially
responsible for
we cannot
claim
we thought

it was an-
other that
did this
& set our
selves a-
part.

Verismo

It is where the external
generative organs are
stored, combines exotic
plots with crops such as
peas or beans. Often
depicted as a communal
village which has water
added so it becomes water-

tight. Has no shareholder
rights; but witnesses are
called when the deathrate
rises above the national
average. Cracks with mat-
urity. Multiple meanings.

Digesting Diogenes

I did not always live
in a barrel said the
famous philosopher
adjusting his position
just a little though
more than enough to
show his preferred
side. I used to live in
a trailer park. Then

someone told me about
reality tv & webcams
& the internet & how
there was this vast
audience out there
fascinated by the
trivial things of life.
Thought about it for a
while; finally decided

what the fuck! Needed
a gimmick so came up
with this. I reach more
people this way. & be-
sides, with the artificial
lighting I’ve set up, I no
longer have to worry
about someone getting
between me & the sun.

About the Author:

Mark Young lives in a small town in North Queensland in Australia, & has been publishing poetry for almost sixty years. He is the author of over thirty-five books, primarily text poetry but also including speculative fiction, vispo, & art history. His work has been widely anthologized, & his essays & poetry translated into a number of languages. His most recent books are Mineral Terpsichore & Ley Lines, both from gradient books of Finland, & The Chorus of the Sphinxes, from Moria Books in Chicago. A new collection, some more strange meteorites, is due out from Meritage & i.e. Press, California / New York, in early 2017.