Tattered puppets
with twisted halos
fall hard
from lofty spaces
when the liar’s game
unravels
and dirty derivatives
spill out
to scatter upon
the floor of Wall Street

empty pockets
worthless paper

Light it up
in a fiat frenzy
as the rigged algorithms
of Ponzi scheme paradise
smog the sky with smoke

chasing the little birds
from their trees
as they seek fresher pastures

Those that once were green
now are all red
in a smoldering pile
of embers and ash

#SpokenWord poem prompt response for:

#MadVerse 417
#DrugVerse 63
#SpeakPoetry

Listen to a recorded reading here on audioBoom

Many thanks to Ian Chung at Eunoia Review for publishing my poem “Taking Measure” today. This piece originally appeared earlier in the year as part of the #finalpoem series at Enclave.

Thank you also to Robert Olson at Calliope Magazine for accepting my poem “Animal” for the upcoming one year anniversary October issue. Calliope was recently nominated for Magazine of the Year by the National Poetry Awards. Anyone that would like to cast a vote can do so by following this link to the simple form.

Lastly, thank you to Three Line Thursday for an honorable mention in the week thirty-nine micro poetry prompt contest. The rest of the results can be seen here.

Selah,

Scott Thomas Outlar