Here is a new blackout poem I managed to pull together during a little mental break at work.

“Massacre”

Who will survive 
real-life horror
what will be left

grave robbing and cannabalism
a reign of terror
an insane family

animal and human bones
a mask worn
molded from human flesh

massacre
bizarre and brutal
massacre

brutally real original crimes
what happened is true
now that's just as real

I had to fudge some elements of the stanzas below, but this is generally how I see it. For the most part, the structure is simply reading from top to bottom. I also chose three line stanzas for a relative sense of pace and a slight sense of unity.

And I did keep the spelling of “cannabalism” from the original ad copy.

I like it. The spelling, not the eating people.

A Thing, Perhaps?

I work a couple of jobs and finished my time today in one role, the writing center, only to head upstairs to my office for my office hours. However, I felt like I needed a break, so I searched archive.org and stumbled on a 1974 newspaper ad for the theatrical release of Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I felt that spark and spent about 15 minutes or so finding my words and blacking them out. It felt good, I am pretty pleased with the result, and it provided a little mental break.

I also saw there is a nice collection of these kind of clippings and ads, so I think I might dive into more. It feels like it could be a fun little project that allows me some poetic practice while being a little crafty. Plus, it leans into my love of horror.

Win-win-win, I think.

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