Three Poems by Scott Thomas Outlar

 

Every Vantage Point Proffers a Keyhole  

 

 

catfish breaching 

sun-splashed 

glistening waves 

of Carroll Creek 

 

new age hippies 

dance in 

bell bottom daze 

 

with war vets 

in wheelchairs 

congregating 

near their usual spot 

 

shea butter 

melts into eyes 

 

some scenes are too 

terribly awesome 

to witness fully 

 

so how could I capture 

a deadpan snapshot in a poem? 

 

dissolve continues 

 

particle fragments 

component isolates 

 

every piece playing its perfect part 

 

it couldn’t be any other way 

else it wouldn’t be at all 

 

every choice 

every decision 

every step 

every righteous action 

every shameful misdeed 

every success 

every regret 

every birth 

every death 

every flux in the program 

every breath of the simulation 

 

if it weren’t for the dive-bombing duck 

splashing soft in forgiving waters 

God would be forgotten behind the veil

 

 

Doubling Down in the Pews 

 

 

Requiem for a shot 

star, tourniquet twisted 

 

Grapple with target 

hunker down, accelerated rise 

 

Brain like Jell-o – oh snap 

gooey plasma, liquid exhaustion 

 

Hybrid theories of alchemical  

chimera tangential transformation 

 

Plasma slithers through pearl teeth 

the crash of white light 

 

Eye to eye 

pixie cinema 

 

Scattered playing cards 

tarot down the hatch 

 

Projected enchantment 

hollow reverb fiesta 

 

Exponential aging 

with wisdom in tow 

 

Torch the absent liquor  

gasoline hybrid concept 

 

Pull the plug, raise set sails 

pulsing lunar target weeping 

 

It’s a rough life 

baby 

but we’re burning righteously  

at both ends 

and honing our prayers 

for the encore

 

 

Spilling Through Little Cracks in Consciousness 

 

 

airborne apex 

parallel and adjacent 

juxtaposed against 

the compass cross 

 

dead halo center 

 

the blades, translucent 

edged razor (wire) wise 

into the final blissful abyss 

 

trained undercover, stealth maneuver  

with open blinds and tired comfort 

 

we shouted in joy 

until it turned to exasperation 

 

learned about the light 

before falling in love with shadows 

 

integration techniques 

welcome to your mirror (lover), lover (mirror)

Scott Thomas Outlar originally hails from Lilburn, Georgia. He now resides and writes in Frederick, Maryland. His work has been nominated multiple times for both the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. He guest-edited the Hope Anthology of Poetry from CultureCult Press as well as the 2019-2023 Western Voices editions of Setu Mag. Selections of his poetry have been translated and published in 15 languages. More about Outlar's work can be found at 17Numa.com.