12 Aspirins and a bottle of scotch

Torrents of whisky wash away the flavour of nicotine.
Smoke hangs in the air, men drink at a rum soaked bar.
The floor glows like liquid silver from spilt beer.
A match is lit, the flame moves like mercury.
Charlie Parker and Louis Armstrong play jazz throughout the bar.

A mature woman drinks an elegant martini, she plays with the
green olives as her blond hair dances to the groove.
A man in the corner chews on a cocktail stick, the aroma of sweet
perfume and musky cologne lingers in the air.
A saxophone is played in the toilet.
Drums beat to the beatniks.
A man in a purple hat flips a coin.

Heads or tails?
Heads or tails?

Shots of gin are swallowed, rivers of Smoky bourbon flow,
men with goatees and women with custard coloured berets kiss and flirt.
The cool dames and the crazy cats swing all night long.
Sitting in an old brown leather chair
Tom Waits writes another
cool jazz song.

- Luke Ritta

(featured in the poetry forum 12.19.11)

editor's note: Happening in a bar near you - join in, call it Holiday Cheer. Santa brings aspirin with the egg nog! - mh

Falling Man

   I am falling through the sky!
I love the feeling of the cold wind swimming around my body!

   I look at my feet above me as I fall!
I feel like a bomb falling on pearl harbour!

   I am falling from my office window!
I am heading towards the pavement below!

   I chose to jump!
   I am happy that I have finally made this decision!

      I am ready...

- Luke Ritta

(featured in the poetry forum 09.06.11)

Wild beats

Slide guitars ring out at dawn, along with larks that sit on a lonely branch and provide the harmonium's vocal.

Slide guitars ring out at dawn!
Slide guitars ring out at dawn!
Slide guitars ring out at dawn!

African drums vibrate at dusk, as does the loud purring of lions after eating a springbok.

African drums vibrate at dusk!
African drums vibrate at dusk!
African drums vibrate at dusk!

- Luke Ritta

(featured in the poetry forum 07.26.11)

Crazy dreams

My eyes close!

I am eating a fancy meal with Hitler and Jesus.

My eyes close!

I am making love to Ayn Rand. NOOOOOOOO!
The philosopher has now metamorphosed into a movie star.
I am now making love to Marilyn Monroe,
YESSSSSSSSS!

My eyes close!

I am walking down a bland shopping street where only
homeless men are the managers of the shops
and rich entrepreneurs stack shelves.

My eyes close!

A strange hideous animal is following me across a foggy bog.
It smells of greed and death, the animal not the bog.
It is wearing a grey suit, it has hardly any hair and
It defiantly has no soul.
It is an English politician.

My eyes close!

I drink a glass of brandy with Napoleon,
a Shot of Vodka with Stalin,
a bottle of whisky with Churchill,
and a cellar of red wine with Mussolini.

My eyes close!

I wake up and I have to go to work and get
through another day in the dull, blandness
of the 21st century.

My eyes close!

- Luke Ritta

(featured in the poetry forum 06.09.11)

The most important thing in life

With out it what are we? We are a decaying corpse rotting in mud!
Warm, crusty, hard, soft,
bread is life!
Green, red, yellow, white, the vegetable is life.
O food, food, food
With out it what are we? We are a decaying corpse rotting in mud!
Juicy, succulent meat and firm, fresh fish.
O food, food, food,
You make us happy, love, sad, ill, upset, ecstatic, glad even regretful,
You make us feel life!
O food, food, food
With out it what are we? We are a decaying corpse rotting in mud!

- Luke Ritta

(featured in the poetry forum 03.10.11)