ALL POEMS BY JAKE TRINGALI @JAKETHEPOET
The following have been reprinted with permission from Poetry for the Neon Apocalypse, out now on Transcendent Zero Press.
invisible ink
it is not widely known but
god has a tattoo
she got it when she was a young anarchist
and bored of the endless
the tattoo started as one elegant equation
that transformed into a candle,
bloomed into a colorful zoo of particles,
and coalesced into droplets of universes
once the tattoo was finished,
it was unchangeable
inevitably, it faded
god’s interests went elsewhere
First published by Poetry Pacific Press in 2016.
10 nanometers through history
without credential, wielding the unstable
amid the experimental and slightly elemental
thoughts fluoresce and ebb and shimmer
frenetic Wilhelm gadgets and levers
hand jives atop shiny laboratory apparatus
banging and shredding in an unlikely tool shed
sparking dimensions, slimming the spectrum
no dynamo hypothesis, less method, more madness
he nobly finds X inside extended senses
the seeker Wilhelm stands cyber-eyed
licking platinocyanide off cathode bodies
conjuring ghosts, glimpsing death
First published in Corner Club Press in 2015.
of no consequence
vast webs of interconnectedness
star system to star system
cat’s cradles of galaxies
the bustling transit systems of the enlightened
the tiny blue planet and its cousins dance
near their central sun
a thin film develops on the planet skin
parasitic, slowly becoming aware of its host
and its darker cousins
calculations are made, and they are all traveling together
very fast indeed
no one glances as the blue planet
slingshots about the cosmos
known only to themselves
and just like that
dying in a blink
homo oblivium
First published by Harbinger Asylum in 2016.
The ladies laughed darkly
Five harpies converge
Their barman must emerge
Ice cubes hide submerged
In the late hours
The ladies laughed darkly
Eyebrows drawn, mouths cuss
Cloudy tattoos subcutaneous
Their alcoholic rage is just
In the late hours
The ladies laughed darkly
Giggles conceal secrets within
Abyssal midnight, howling
Deep in drink, prayers hidden
In the late hours
The ladies laughed darkly
Whispered plans of attack
Each, a wicked pyromaniac
Ember eyes, shades of not black
In the late hours
The ladies laughed darkly
These scorned flowers
With fathomless powers
Mankind cowers
In the late hours
The ladies laughed darkly
First published in The Manhattanville Review in 2014.
ignore alien orders
it helped stop / the feelings
when i wrapped the silver coated / skull cap around my head
the signal was blocked and I felt / myself again
and you were skeptical / no, you’re wrong
inside the train is the worst / they can hear me
strangely / i can’t stop pleading for them to listen
my sensitivity heightened / at a lower depth
bulleting through the bustling city / million stories and frequencies
i am grounded / underground
magnetic shielding calms me / the world shifts back and slows
the radio waves bounce right off / up to 35 decibels
and the wrist strap works best / under aquarius
headaches are just a symptom / a broken echo
when did you hear that / oh, it’s best left unsaid
300% more ionization / my schedule is off
to sleep under a faraday cage / would free my spirits
they can hear / from very, very, very far away
bugs permeate my tissue cultures / i know how things work
microwaves are lesser bugs / allied to the government
the van allens / shield poison whispers
but wireless radiation / transports thoughts as a butterfly
tin foil is only for my sandwich / no, you’re wrong
First published by Unrorean in 2015
Jake is a poet living in Boston. Poetry for the Neon Apocalypse can be purchased online or in local bookstores. Catch Jake’s book release party at the Midway Cafe in Jamaica Plain on Sunday, Nov 4 from 4 pm to 8 pm.
Dig Staff means this article was a collaborative effort. Teamwork, as we like to call it.
