This short chap carries a vicious edge, and with lines like: "He's got a heart of gold/ and his enemies have an extra asshole./ He's everything I want in a friend/ and a killer besides./ He makes me laugh/ and makes others bleed" you know you're on to something filled with violence and wisdom gained from way too many gutters. "Living on Methadrine Time" reminds me of my speed freak days, where time moves too fast, there are too many things to do, and aging suddenly becomes something you're incredibly aware of. In "Blood Virgin" we go hunting with a boy and his father for the first time: "I shot her once/ and she kicked/ painridden and desperate/ the second shot/ she heard but never felt/ kicked some more/ it was the first time/ for both of us/ the third shot and she lay still/waiting for me". "The Jesus Virus" caught the desperation of trying to save others when you're only trying to save yourself. This is a great collection of poems, capturing a desperate dangerous world where things go downhill in a hurry.--oberc
This review originally appeared in TapRoot Reviews #3,
Contact the editor, luigi-bob drake, at Burning Press
Copyright Burning Press 1993, 1995.