John Leonard
What the Fuck am I Doing in Erie, Pennsylvania?
I am bleeding from the teeth. It's winter, but technically it's fall.
There is no music and all the pumpkins have rotted from the inside out.
Everything is frozen in November! The snow was eleven inches deep
when they buried my grandmother. And now, I am complaining to strangers.
Jesus Christ, what a depressing affair. The lips of an attractive bartender
wouldn't be enough to lift this sky, couldn't give me one night away from
the heaviness of ice-fog, or the realization that such weather exists.
The air is bad. My poetry is bad. The stench of Yuengling taints everything.
Bio
John Leonard is an award-winning writer, educator, and poetry editor for Twyckenham Notes. He holds an M.A. in English from Indiana University. His previous works have appeared in Poetry Quarterly, december, Chiron Review, North Dakota Review, Roanoke Review, Punt Volat, The Windsor Review, Rappahannock Review, Jelly Bucket, Mud Season Review, The Blue Mountain Review, Genre: Urban Arts, Stonecoast Review, and Trailer Park Quarterly. He lives in Elkhart, Indiana with his wife, three cats, and two dogs. You can follow him on Twitter at @jotyleon and @TwyckenhamNotes.