A meditation on spectacle—how modern entertainment reframes suffering as competition, humiliation as content, and moral distance as victory. From primetime sports to reality television, the poem interrogates the quiet bargain we make as viewers: validation purchased at the expense of someone else’s disgrace. What begins as observation ends as implication, leaving the audience to sit with an uncomfortable truth—the show only works because we keep showing up.
Tag Archives: Poetry
Inescapable Cruelty Engine
In an age of infinite feeds and instant certainty, outrage moves faster than understanding. This piece explores how belief shapes perception, how spectacle replaces empathy, and how we find ourselves entangled—again and again—in a system that rewards reaction while tragedy persists.
Langan’s on 47th
A brief moment before a Broadway show, a corner seat at a Manhattan bar, and a stranger who reminded us that some places still resist walls. Langan’s on 47th is a small reflection on openness, shared space, and the quiet human grace that can surface when we least expect it.
Passport
A quiet traveler reaches the final gate, carrying a lifetime of memories and a heart ready to let go. As she steps forward, a familiar face welcomes her home—and a journey beyond begins.
A Penny for Your Memory
As the penny is finally decommissioned, its small copper life lingers on—in luck, childhood, and memory.
Apophorism
A darkly playful poem that twists old sayings into new absurdities, blending satire, philosophy, and carnival imagery in biting verse.
The Ghosts of Piggies Past
Huddled in the strange new darknessThe very first night in his new homeA baby piggy is counting the momentsFacing a long cold night all alone Strange noises crowd his tiny spaceSleep but the dreams that evadeWith his heart running a frantic raceHis sense of comfort continues to fade Just when he fears he can bearContinue reading “The Ghosts of Piggies Past”
A Heretic’s Prayer
Drawing heavily on my dysfunctional relationship with organized religion, the following series of poems represent decades of repressed personal feelings as well as the collective laments of countless critics before me. I endeavor to call out hypocrisy, shed light on logical fallacies and provoke a visceral response from those that have stopped questioning and challengingContinue reading “A Heretic’s Prayer”
Mannino Acid 