Joseph A. Pinto

shameless book promotion time! sipping again from my 2^nd poetry collection ‘scotch & scars’ from 2020.

it hits you sometimes…most times…a truth that in your sober you deny. but not anymore…

today’s selection is:

‘one more’

the perception is

you drink too much

when you are alone;

the reality is

you are alone.

*

listen to this poem

•

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved

•

Poetry served raw and unedited from the moment crafted

•

‘Dead Bird,’ From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

so tell me…how do you share the comfort..?

‘best of intentions’

repeated, her legitimate question:

“how do you console the black

streams of memory?

how do you distinguish miles from a

slowly shimmering mirage?”

suffice to say the bright of my eyes

faded

and i softly cleared my throat

“glory and illusion are inseparable,”

i told her,

“still i’m not one to gloat.

you see, the fearless man perishes

for every right he’s ever done

recognized faith turns suicide

all convenience stripped of hope.”

her mouth churned a funeral oration

and from that moment i knew

she’d bury me with the best of intentions.

*

listen to this poem

•

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved

•

Poetry served raw and unedited from the moment crafted

•

‘Dead Bird,’ From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

shameless book promotion time! another selection from my 2^nd poetry collection ‘scotch & scars’ from 2020.

a hill to some is a mountain to others. light to some is darkness to others. i guess what i’m saying is please don’t ever judge unless you wear the same shoes…

today’s selection is:

‘bank account’

all the money in the world

why would he go and hang himself?

i pondered the question

sipped my scotch

while conversation surged through the bar

an incoming tide of bewilderment

and bullshit.

i had one more for the road.

sometimes i drive the highway

when it is empty and dark

with my eyes closed tight.

i do this without a buck to spare

in my wallet.

*

listen to this poem

•

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved

•

Poetry served raw and unedited from the moment crafted

•

‘Dead Bird,’ From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

shameless book promotion time! continuing with my 2^nd poetry collection ‘scotch & scars’ from 2020.

a meal is just that, a meal. but did you also know that chow is a harbinger for many a relationship? you didn’t? luckily now you do. and you didn’t have to count any calories to find out, either…

today’s selection is:

‘pizza’

they sit masticating dreams

from cold crust

thumbing through their phones

sharing slices of pie.

the cheese binds them

stronger than their promises

mundane conversation

reduced to crumbs.

the only thing left to rouse them

a dash of hot sauce.

*

listen to this poem

•

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved

•

Poetry served raw and unedited from the moment crafted

•

‘Dead Bird,’ From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

shameless book promotion time! the spotlight shines on my 2^nd poetry collection ‘scotch and scars!’

i released ‘scotch & scars’ in 2020, two years after ‘a distilled spirit.’ while the collection still featured ‘bar observations,’ it did begin to reveal more of my darker thoughts and emotions. good, raw poetry should be unflinching and that’s where ‘scotch & scars’ delivers. also, it helped that every single one of the poems contained within was written with (many) a scotch.

today’s selection is:

‘served what was not requested’

the color gradient is off

perhaps it just plays that way

to the untamed eye

yet a drinker of scotch

can catch the kool-aid straight off

don’t think i don’t know

when things have been sweetened;

you’re talking to a man

who lives for the bite.

*

listen to this poem

•

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved

•

Poetry served raw and unedited from the moment crafted

•

‘Dead Bird,’ From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

stare straight ahead. they’ll leave you alone eventually…

‘seep’

blissful, ignorant silence—

to seep alone in ruin

indulgent alcoholic consumption.

*

listen to this poem

•

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved

•

Poetry served raw and unedited from the moment crafted

•

‘Dead Bird,’ From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

should you ask, i won’t hold back…

‘sharp things’

you thought my pen was sharp

you should hear my fucking mouth.

*

listen to this poem

•

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved

•

Poetry served raw and unedited from the moment crafted

•

‘Dead Bird,’ From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

some prose poetry from november of 2021.

my daughter, now 17, has special needs. i help her get ready for school every morning. i walk her to the school and return to pick her up every day. i still brush her hair. i’ve been doing this since she’s been 4 years old.

life is far from fair, and to this day i have trouble accepting the why’s. but if god is who i think he is, he’ll have me guiding her once i’m gone. each of my dogs at my side, waiting…

‘bench’

 of course it’s a trick but fix your gaze long enough and you’ll believe angels dance in light. fingers of breeze play through leaves the way i spent mornings brushing your hair. sleep knots tied your locks and i’d do anything on earth to still be there. get yourself ready for school, you don’t need my help, but i’d hurry to you the moment you asked. i know your fingers didn’t work quite right. neither did my head accepting it. but look at you, wise woman grown from girl, goddess amongst mortal things. you must know by now the palm grows to cup the flame as slowly the wick withers. so i must let you be. i’ve had little to blind me of this life save you and a westward sun. please slip those once awkward fingers through the frightened of my own. stay till i can no more. i’ll sing a soft song of the days i held to your tender heart and we’ll spin along with spirits and i’ll keep my limbs like this old oak till my strength flees.

bench:

a long seat for two or more persons

*

listen to this poem

•

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved

•

Poetry served raw and unedited from the moment crafted

•

‘Dead Bird,’ From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

bar observation:

listen in on some conversations. it’s just blah blah blah. but the drinking? it’s all business.

‘dumb, or are they’

waste the words

the meanings

but never waste

the alcohol

*

listen to this poem

•

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved

•

Poetry served raw and unedited from the moment crafted

•

‘Dead Bird,’ From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

i call these ‘lubrication pieces.’ most of my writing sessions start with zero ideas. so i write anything! what’s the first thing i notice when glancing out the window? what seemingly mundane thing might’ve stuck in my head during the course of the day? how do my clothes feel on my body in the moment? whatever written doesn’t need to be good…it just needs to break the ice.

start with one small step.

‘i’ve never been here before’

sometimes change entails

a new bar

a new seat

entirely new lighting

to gain fresh perspective.

*

listen to this poem

•

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved

•

Poetry served raw and unedited from the moment crafted

•

‘Dead Bird,’ From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.