The sun died unexpectedly this morning
from a sudden heart attack
while trying to shove the new dawn
up and over the horizon
to bleed solar rays of light
upon an ungrateful world.

A fallen star thrashing across the sky
with violent seizures
and death throes of desolation,
pouring outward the last dose of hope
into a poisoned atmosphere blinded by despair.

The blue moon wept as it waned,
going into a shocked state of mourning.
Unable to reciprocate the reflection
of its lost lover,
the broken orb went into hiding
on the dark side of itself,
casting naught but shadows
upon a fallen black planet.

With frigid cold came the new age,
blistered to the marrow of the bone
by a cryogenic glimpse of extinction
as revelation fever brought forth prophecies
heralding total collapse into entropy;
the harbinger of chaos arrived in full splendor,
delivering a kick to the gut
of a species already on the brink of disaster.

The sun was buried beneath the waves…
Welcome to the funeral…
Whisper your final prayer as the oxygen burns out…

This is a poem that I wrote yesterday while in the woods at the local park, which has been my basic habit now for the past couple of months as I walk up there each day to meditate, listen to music, hammer out words, and jog.

But to hell with all that jazz…August has arrived…and that means that new journals are out today.

I’m happy to have a poem appear in issue 3 of Sarah Frances Moran’s Yellow Chair Review. This has definitely been one of my favorite new indie lit venues since it burst onto the scene a few months ago. I believe that there are big things in the future for YCR, and I’m happy to have now contributed to each monthly issue so far. “Kittens and Cupcakes” can be checked out at this link.

Issue 3 of Sonic Boom is also out today. Many thanks to Shloka Shankar for including my poem “Orange Crush Paradise” in this issue.

Also released today is the nature-themed August issue of Indiana Voice Journal, edited by Janine Pickett. I’m honored to have my words appear for the second time in this journal. “Rush Hour” and “Fill in the Blanks” are both original pieces, while “Yawning Stars” was first published in Dissident Voice and later in The Fat Damsel.

Selah,

Scott Thomas Outlar