Author: James D. Casey IV

James D. Casey IV is the author of seven full-length collections of poetry: Metaphorically Esoteric, Dark Days Inside the Light While Drunk on Wine, Tin Foil Hats & Hadacol Coins, Owls in Hot Rods with Pink Elephants and Dead Bats, Isomorphic, Death & Love/Love & Death, and Unwritten Words That Slide Down The Wall. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of Cajun Mutt Press. James is a southern poet with roots in Louisiana & Mississippi, currently residing in Illinois with his beautiful Muse, their retarded dog, and two black cats. Mr. Casey's poetry touches on a wide range of topics including personal experiences, love, hate, religion, politics, dreams, addiction, sex, parallel dimensions, and many more. His work has been published in print and online by several literary magazines and small press venues including Triadæ Magazine, Medusa's Kitchen, The Rye Whiskey Review, Under The Bleachers, Alien Buddha Press, The Abyss, Midnight Magazine, Boozehound Reviews, Dope Fiend Daily, Academy of the Heart and Mind, Ariel Chart, Piker Press, Madness Muse Press, Runcible Spoon, Expat Press, Walking Is Still Honest(W.I.S.H.)Press, Degenerate Literature, Gathering Stories, Constellate Literary Journal, IT-International Times, Visual Verse, The Blue Nib, Pink Litter, In Between Hangovers, Indiana Voice Journal, Poetry Breakfast, Beatnik Cowboy, Dissident Voice, Scarlet Leaf Review, Horror Sleaze Trash, Mad Swirl, Zombie Logic Review, Whispers, Your One Phone Call, I am not a Silent Poet, Tuck Magazine, Terror House Magazine, Outlaw Poetry, Inquietudes Literary Journal, Duane's PoeTree, High On Poems, Synchronized Chaos, Love Booklet, The Wombwell Rainbow, Bottom Shelf Whiskey, Story Mirror, Stanzaic Stylings, Spillwords Press, The Micropoets Society, Leaves of Ink, PPP Ezine, Poetry Life & Times, Realistic Poetry International, Writing Nights Press, Eber & Wein, and several others. James spends most of his time writing, but also enjoys practicing magick, creating artwork, and cooking Cajun cuisine.

Cajun Mutt Press Featured Writer 01/24/22

January 24, 2022January 24, 2022 James D. Casey IV

Work

On her dimpled left ass cheek was
the inked word ‘Rashid’. I saw it
while we changed to hit the club
and she saw me,
looking.
The permascowl softened the smallest bit
and she said, that’s my son’s name.
I was surprised: I was learning
we keep no familiar binds but
the pimps and hustlers like
the one in the next room
kept for business. A few inches
below the name a circular
scar puckered recognizable
to me as a bullet hole. Maybe
because molly she added,
he died, then pulled acidwash
up, over her backside. The small talk ceased.
She turned around to face me, face back on,
announced: now let’s
go get that
muthafuckin munay.

Under the influence of both the River and irreverence, Mari ‘Diz/zy’ Deweese lives and sings and writes of what she’s learned on the rougher, sometimes slicker, side of the American dream in Memphis, TN. When she isn’t busy selling whatever sells these days, she releases her work through the blessed small presses, and her artist pages on social media. Her third collection of verse is imminently forthcoming from Nixes Mate Books.

Cajun Mutt Press Featured Writer 01/21/22

January 21, 2022January 21, 2022 James D. Casey IV

a little slice of dystopia

eating ice cream in the dark

wondering if masturbation
is ever considered exercise

the woman of my dreams
most likely died many
moons ago

but it doesn’t really matter

in these quiet moments alone
you learn over time life is simply
a countdown for death

some get to have a little fun
along the way

others get nothing but tragedy

any of us could be a roll of
the dice or a lucky penny
scratching off a dream or
a fucking nightmare

as for myself,

i never was one for
the games of chance

i accept this ride will be
over long before i ever
needed it to be

i have my drinks
a little slice of dystopia

plenty of pens and paper
a trusty towel

the shotgun in the corner

and just enough of a flicker
of a flame to keep going

J.J. Campbell (1976 – ?) was raised by wolves yet managed to graduate high school with honors. He’s been widely published over the last quarter-century, most recently at Terror House Magazine, Synchronized Chaos, The Beatnik Cowboy, The Rye Whiskey Review, and Horror Sleaze Trash. You can find him most days on his mildly entertaining blog, evil delights. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)

*EDITOR’S NOTE: Happy Birthday, Brother Campbell, Cheers!!!
J.D.C.IV

Cajun Mutt Press Featured Writer 01/19/22

January 19, 2022 James D. Casey IV

I am a poet

I am a poet
sometimes
words strung together
stitched into frayed concepts
maybe they lack meaning
saturated by deadened philosophies
I am a poet
hernia tearing further open on a warehouse floor
badgered at the store by customers and managers alike
sales floor, stockroom, or at the bar
I am a poet
five lines of cocaine
chugging a fifth of whiskey
and some wine
digestive tract arrested
nearly 36 hours out
bile in the toilet
spit on the floor
I am a poet
still learning harsh lessons at 41
no longer giving a shit
really
narcissistic stains on my brain
they killed the factories
but modern consciousness is still factory made
I am a poet
but a fool
at the same
time

Phantom future tense reflections

I want to be the Lizard-King
shedding skin to travel through time out of mind
son of the deep
derived from dry ocean salt crystals
an electromagnetic shaman dancing within the unified field led by gaslight
doors of perception bursting open the alternate levels between heaven and hell
it’s all a matter of time paradise lost can never be regained
for it’s all happening at once!
this wilderness of living on a moonlit drive through an ever-expanding night

Sexist trope love doll fantasy

Androgynous albino
a plethora of neon-colored wigs
zippered eyes
choosing what to see
whether imaginary or daybreak surgical deceit
operation blues
orifices aplenty
doesn’t matter where
just when
okay, not the hands… too bizarre
buckles for infliction
bound in straps
duct tape saggy chest with cigarette in the center
mouth smelling like cheap vodka and chemotherapy
said “thought you a were a muse…”
“No, I’m amused”

something unreal giggled

Mike Zone is the Editor in Chief of Dumpster Fire Press, the author of Shedding Dark Places (almost), One Hell of a Muse, A Farewell to Big Ideas, and Void Beneath the Skin, as well as coauthor of The Grind. frequent contributor to Alien Buddha Press and Mad Swirl. His work has been featured in: Horror Sleaze Trash, Better Than Starbucks, Piker Press, Punk Noir Magazine, Synchronized Chaos, Outlaw Poetry, and Cult Culture Magazine.

Cajun Mutt Press Featured Writer 01/17/22

January 17, 2022 James D. Casey IV

Credit

I go up to the store counter to pay
for my sandwich
and discover that
I do not have my wallet on me.
“That’s alright,” the counter-guy says, “pay
me the next time.”
I thank him and leave, feeling
a little ashamed because
I have never liked the guy–
have disparaged him in my head
repeatedly–
it is the first time
anyone in this town
has extended credit to
me…
Not so bad a burgh, this town
afterall
I tell myself, tootling down the
sun-lit sidewalk. Not so ugly a dump,
suddenly; not as hostile-seeming…
“Don’t go back there,” a voice
in my head says.
“Fuck ’em.”

Wayne F. Burke’s poetry and prose has been widely published online and in print (including in CAJUN MUTT). He is author of eight published full-length poetry collections–most recently BLACK SUMMER, Spartan Press, 2021, and one published collection of short stories (TURMOIL & Other Stories, Adelaide Press, 2020). He lives in Vermont.

Cajun Mutt Press Featured Writer 01/14/22

January 14, 2022 James D. Casey IV

LOOKING UP

behold
the face under
the moon,

a singular
hymnal of
love and suffering
from this
blessed spot
gazing up
believing past
night clouds
had released into
the ears of
earnest souls
a beautiful language
until an unwelcome
chill reminds those
waiting
that the distance
from here
to there
may be too great
for prayers
to be answered

Dr. Singer has had over 1,200 poems published on the internet, magazines and in books and is a Pushcart Award Nominee. Some of the magazines that have accepted his poems for publication are: Westward Quarterly, Jerry Jazz, SP Quill, Avocet, Underground Voices, Outlaw Poetry, Literary Fever, Dance of my Hands, Language & Culture, The Stray Branch, Tipton Poetry Indigo Rising, Down in the Dirt, Fullosia Press, Orbis, Penwood Review, Subtle Tea, Ambassador Poetry Award, Massachusetts State Poetry Society. Louisiana State Poetry Society Award. Readers Award Orbis Magazine 2019. Arizona State Poetry Award 2020. Mad Swirl Anthology 2018, 2019.