Category Archives: poems by todd moore

the mystery…

the mystery

is why
attila jozsef
threw himself
under
a train
what i
want to
know is
did he
write a
poem
before he
died i’m
betting he
did &
if so
why didn’t
that save
him or
does poetry
ever save
anyone
& did
he feel
that railroad
iron grind
the poem
into his
blood

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i was…

i was

crouching w/
spiders under
the front
porch when
i heard
jerry’s big
brother
turk say
i hit him
in the head
w/a shovel
& ran i’m
not sure if
he’s even
alive where’s
the shovel
malone asked
fuck i dropped
it why
i wanna see
if you left
any of lyle
on the blade

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when…

when they’re
shooting at
you what’re
you thinking
abt billie sd
dillinger
tossed a
45 slug &
billie caught
it a hole
in the wall
dillinger sd
billie stared
at the bullet
a second
then tossed
it back sd
you mean
death no
dillinger re
plied it’s
where death
sleeps i
wanna go
there get
a taste of
the night


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45 auto…

45 auto

if it’s any
of yr
goddam
business
o’hara sd
pouring
a shot
there’s a
nice new
hole be
tween
geiger’s
eyes
o’hara
leaned for
ward in
the bar’s
half dark
sd why
all the
questions
you
writing a
book
a poem
i replied
downing
my drink
poetry
what the
fuck
is that
whiskey
& blood
asshole
whiskey
& blood

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peckinpah took…

peckinpah took

ben johnson
aside while
filming the
battle of
bloody porch
in the wild
bunch & sd
you looked
good in
that last
shot but it
wasn’t in
tense enough
what the
hell are you
talking abt
johnson
replied i
broke my
finger wor
king that
goddam
machine
gun i don’t
give a fuck
if you broke
yr dick
make it
look like
you are
falling in
love w/that
browning
because it’s
going to
be yr angel
of death


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the perfect…

the perfect

score dillinger
sd is when
you can
taste the
machine gun
action in
the way
you get the
money

For Mark Weber on his birthday.–Todd Moore

Mark Weber | Photo by Eric Breitbart

listen to Mark Weber’s Jazz Radio Show Theme

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the bank…

the bank

president
had his
back to
the door
when dill
inger & red
hamilton
walked in
the pres
ident turned
when dill
inger used
the gun
barrel to
tap on the
counter
i suppose
you want
the money
the pres
ident sd
you have a
choice dill
inger replied
you can
give me
the money
or else
what the
president
sd dillinger
smiled sd
you can
suck my
machine
gun i
washed
off the
barrel

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just before…

just before

leaving
for a job
makley
took one
last drag
off his
cigaret
flicked it
at a dog
& sd
you read
what some
sheriff
out in
montana
did to
a bankrob
ber no
dillinger
sd what
makley
adjusted
his shoul
der hols
ter sd
the last
one he
caught
he tied to
the back
bumper
of his
car &
dragged
him ten
miles left
most of
the man’s
brains
smeared
on the
road you
figure
you’ll ever
take a ride
like that
dillinger
kissed the
thompson
aimed it
at the sun
went bang
sd i got
all the ride
i’ll ever
need
right here

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lucky…

lucky

was pissing
on the
corpse of
a dog when
kenny
stepped out
from be
hind the
dumpster
& shot him
the 12
gauge
double ought
buck took
everything
hanging
between his
legs &
knocked
him against
a big
black wall

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fucking…

fucking

around w/a
45 auto
while larry
sez kid
kid but i’m
not listening
because
i like the
feel of the
hammer
spur digging
into my
thumb kid
i can letcha
have it
cheap i’m
aiming at
my reflec
tion in the
mirror first
world war
vintage &
it still works
fine a
thousand
bucks gets
you the his
tory of death
larry sez
palming his
cigaret my
smile lights
the gun
barrel i in
vented the
history of
death now
all i wanna
do is conjure
the action

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