Drones
The drones are here,
But in truth they always have been—
Sailing over Florence
As Old Renaissance Masters
Slung paint against the walls.
At one time
They cruised the Oceans
With supersonic planes—
Emissaries of light
Glowing in the gloom.
But now, they follow drunkards
And anorexic kids;
Stalk socialites
And killers
Lost in lazy traffic.
They play songs
of crying violence
Then fall like stricken birds.
They were last seen gliding east,
To the mountains of Japan,
Dipping out of view.
They’re the secret rolling storm,
Slick with acid rain.
They’re the toxic midnight angels
Knitted through time.
Zombie Life
Beneath the crimson sky
With its ruthless scars
And battered skull,
The zombies slip and slide
Down supermarket aisles.
They wade about in meat,
Suckle on their sores,
And pay with loyalty cards.
They knock back German beers
Smeared with sloppy flesh
And anti-aging cream.
They crash their Tesla trucks
And celebrate the carnage.
Across the nation,
Fat tongues
Hang in cafes
Like greasy roasted ducks.
There’s no need for a cure,
Zombie life is booming;
With endless severed limbs
To jazz up ramen noodles
And everybody loves
A pot of ramen noodles.
I Don’t Want to Write about the Sky Today
The sky is nice
The sky is electric
It’s a prism of glistening glass.
But I have no time for the sky
Today,
It bores me
Like the thudding
Of brick upon withered bone.
So, I’ll lure down the clouds,
Wrap them in sacks,
And chew on the sun.
I’m trapped inside a dream
Of sick suburban gloom.
The pills no longer work.
Somewhere there’s war,
That bruise on the masses,
And I blame the shameless sky.
-- Tim Frank’s work has been published in Bending Genres, X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine, Maudlin House, The Forge Literary Magazine, Jake and elsewhere. He has been nominated for Best Small Fictions and 3x Best of the Net. His debut chapbook is, An Advert Can Be Beautiful in the Right Shade of Death (C22 Press ’24) His sophomore effort is, Delusions to Live By (Alien Buddha Press ’25)