We found out painfully early

Santa Claus: Our obese alcoholic Daddy

After the Tooth Fairy finally 

Ran out of money

We caught the Easter Bunny

Acting very naughty

Over the fence, we saw him smoking

Scratching his balls

But do you still believe in the dream of love?

Do you still believe

Or have you finally woken up?

Do you remember what you wanted to be?

An astronaut

Fireman

President of the Country?

The girls seemed content

Just hoping to get married

We all thought we’d get

Disgustingly wealthy

But we all ended up broke

Smoking

Against the wall

But do you still believe in the dream of love?

Do you still believe

Or have you finally grown up?

Gabriel Hart lives in Morongo Valley in California’s High Desert. His debut twin novel of surrealist-noir Virgins In Reverse / The Intrusion (Traveling Shoes Press) was released in 2019, with a foreword by Avant-rockabilly provocateur Tav Falco. His upcoming desert-themed speculative fiction novel Lies of Heaven will be published by Space Cowboy in late 2020. Other works have appeared in Pulp Modern, Black Hare Press (Australia), Crime Poetry Weekly, EconoClash Review, and Shotgun Honey. He is also a regular contributor to Space Cowboy’s Simultaneous Times sci-fi podcast.