we should all be cynics


I'm surrounded by
idiot optimists
cynical is the only

way to be.
Mom says she
misses someone

saying, “I love you.”
I told her
don't miss it,
they're always lying

she laughed her optimism
clear off.



the oranges


I keep a basket of oranges in the car.
every time I see a really hot girl
I mean disgustingly hot
the kind that makes you involuntarily moan,
I throw one at her

• Ralph-Michael Chiaia is an experimental poet. Find out more at http://formonksonly.blogspot.com including how to purchase Chiaia's new chapbook from Coatlism Press. IS&T will be carrying a review of this in the near future.