a period at the end

down in the basement

listening to megadeth

as a domestic storm

rages upstairs

sending cobwebs and

clouds of dust

raining down on my head

and scaring the mice 

in the walls

I turn up the volume

the music blends with the 

pounding

with the vibrations and the

weed

sending shivers up my spine

that

ricochet in my skull

stoic faces in the

wood paneling

watch over me like dark wizards

as Dave Mustaine shreds and

bends

every screaming note

and

riff

there are many things outside

of this room

waiting to grind me down 

like work

mortgage

covid

murder hornets

politics

my children’s mental health

and

that meme of Dave

playing a slug

instead of his guitar

but

I’m not going to think about them

right now

at least

not until I

finish

this

poem

and put

a

period

at

the

EVERY MORNING I WAKE UP AND WONDER IF THIS WILL BE THE DAY ADAM SANDLER FINALLY FILES A RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST SHAWN BERMAN

like,

seriously.

I can’t be

the only one.



Alan ten-Hoeve hides in the basement of a house in the woods where he sometimes writes. His recent work has appeared in Selcouth Station and Close To The Bone. Twitter @alantenhoeve