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.