this harrowing reality

by J.J. Campbell

lazy in the sun

trying to find

the great escape

from this harrowing

reality

the last sunny day

before the dystopian

madness strikes again

you remember your

grandmother telling

you stories about the

great depression

how each day was

a brand-new hell

why we must suffer

through everything

again is beyond me

J.J. Campbell (1976–?) is old enough to know better. He's been widely published over the years, most recently at Synchronized Chaos, Horror Sleaze Trash, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, The Rye Whiskey Review, and Mad Swirl. You can catch him most days on his mildly entertaining blog, evil delights. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)

Cindy Rosmus originally hails from the Ironbound section of Newark, NJ, once voted the “unfriendliest city on the planet.” She talks like Anybodys from West Side Story and everybody from Saturday Night Fever. Her noir/horror/bizarro stories have been published in the coolest places, such as Shotgun Honey; Megazine; Dark Dossier; The Rye Whiskey Review, Under the Bleachers, and Rock and a Hard Place. She is the editor/art director of Yellow Mama. She’s published seven collections of short stories. Cindy is a Gemini, a Christian, and an animal rights advocate. She has recently branched out into photo illustration.