Published inJOliver’s Twist·PinnedMember-onlyWelcome to “JOliver’s Twist” — Submission GuidelinesWhere the pen is tethered to the heart… — Dear Medium Family, It seems like only yesterday that I was writing a thank you note to all of you whose generous readership and kind comments were instrumental in my being selected as a “Top Poet” on Medium. That was a humbling moment, one that encouraged me to keep on…Publications On Medium2 min readPublications On Medium2 min read
Published inJOliver’s Twist·PinnedMember-onlyAll Men Bleed When They Pee(excerpted from a stream of consciousness…) If I were to keep a journal of my thoughts, they’d never let me leave this place. In my tired mind, I’ve murdered men for making noise. For an ugly look. For less. I’ve tortured my keepers for slights both real and imagined, torn by…Prison3 min readPrison3 min read
PinnedMember-onlyStill Standing… ( after years in prison, and a forty minute wait at the pharmacy)I stand On this concrete floor, Within these concrete walls, Underneath this concrete ceiling, Behind this iron apron Of bars I stand Waiting, breathing, Expecting to be noticed, Desiring to be recognized, Hoping to be addressed As human I stand Listening to the hustle bustle Of routine, Of other humans Caught in the act Of…Poetry1 min readPoetry1 min read
Published inJOliver’s Twist·PinnedMember-onlyThere is a Beauty…There is a beauty to this life moments that lodge in your throat — make you swallow hard. I was at the neurologist having staples pulled and never mind that I was scared even though I’d stood down gangs and predators in prison, survived a divorce and escaped foster hell. …Poetry2 min readPoetry2 min read
PinnedMember-onlyAnd So I Write…For most people, 20/20 represents hindsight or perfect vision. For me, it was a release date. In 1998, I was a thirty-four year old masonry contractor with a beautiful family and much to be grateful for. In that same year, I celebrated my good fortune with a drug-fueled crime spree…5 min read5 min read
Oct 8Member-onlyThere Once Was a Girl…There once was a girl with Irish roots, Who gamboled about in leggings and boots, She danced and giggled and burped and sang, And came to a halt when her cell phone rang: * “Could it be that it’s he — that it’s him that I love?” “Could it be…Poetry2 min readPoetry2 min read
Oct 2Member-onlyIzzy NotoverI opened your letter with the clever name and false address, hands trembling at the idea of you and me. Of you and him. Of we? Read and reread that letter sits while I imagine pink ribbons and your single breast, that long grey braid on your back like a rope, and the odds…Poetry1 min readPoetry1 min read
Oct 2Member-only“It Just Broke All By Itself!”As a father of four grown children (three daughters and a son), I could probably write a tome’s worth of stories ranging from the cute and sweet on up to the gut-wrenching and downright scary. …Parenting6 min readParenting6 min read
Sep 23Member-only“Because Sometimes We Must Have Form” (Says Tina)And then she seduces me With a blank verse — six line Style that must surely be her Favorite way of stacking words When life in its sometimes Cruelty calls her ugly and small. * And she repeats herself in small Ways that often cause me To marvel at the…Poetry2 min readPoetry2 min read
Sep 23Member-onlyA Second Look…(at ice cubes)They shiver in quiet despair. The resonant silence of death Envelopes their frozen tomb. Yet for that inevitable bell that tolls, They stand fast, Unmoving, A mere shell of their former state. Cast in the role of the proverbial Viking, They are richly clad in armor of diamond and pearl! …Poetry1 min readPoetry1 min read
