Short Cuts to Madness

by RpVerlaine

Neither mortal or

its far opposite

I wake up wanted in Texas

to text messages

brief as a eulogy

by a hanging judge

on the ropes like me

with guilt weighing heavy

on speed dial . . .

In my mind I hear

her footsteps on stairs

as I counted each one

until I ran out of

digits.

A wild one she was/is

an untamed touch of madness

bringing color to our film noir

escapades framed by sweet

crime sprees of love & treachery.

I call the airport

ask about Texas.

Soon I have wings

to fly and later

when taxi driver asks—where to?

I say “I'm headed

somewhere that I know

lies between disaster

and regret, but if

you've got a shortcut

take it.”

Rp Verlaine lives in New York City. He has an MFA in creative writing from City College. He taught in the New York Public schools for many years. His first volume of poetry, Damaged by Dames & Drinking, was published in 2017 and another, Femme Fatales, Movie Starlets & Rockers, in 2018. A set of three e-books titled Lies From the Autobiography vol 1–3 were published from 2018 to 2020. His newest book, Imagined Indecencies, was published in February of 2022.