Tag Archives: poem

In the Company of Solitude, Vol. 3

Posted on January 18, 2024 by John Biscello

This volume features shrines and cemeteries, and a visit to Ryokan’s hut.

Posted in Artwork, Audio, Cinema, photography, Poetry, Prose, Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Comeback

Posted on January 14, 2024 by John Biscello

Pretend to be dead at your own funeral. Bask in the unparalleled theater of your ending. When the audience leaves, stop pretending. Plan a comeback, understanding that previous perceptions will be dismissed, and the cast of characters, including you, will … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

End of Days

Posted on January 14, 2024 by John Biscello

Name your child End of Days. When your child is throwing a tantrum, say—End of Days, I need you to stop this instant. When your child goes to sleep at night, tell them—Sweet dreams, End of Days, I love you. … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A.I.

Posted on January 10, 2024 by John Biscello

Develop an A.I. mother. Ask the A.I. mother to raise and nurture you in the way that you always imagined you should have been raised and nurtured. Discard your previous existence, the first one, and install a legend around the … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shards

Posted on January 10, 2024 by John Biscello

Break a mirror into many pieces. Stare long and hard then long and soft at yourself in the shards. Rearrange the pieces and see how you change. Continue this process of rearrangement, testing the variations of your endlessly shifting self. … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bullet Proof

Posted on January 9, 2024 by John Biscello

Take every American bullet from every American gun and make necklaces that are shipped overseas to random people sharing the common denominator that all their names begin and end with a letter. Inside these boxes will be a uniform note, … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Postcard

Posted on January 9, 2024 by John Biscello

Send a blank postcard from an unspecified place to a friend. Call them up and ask them to imagine what it is like where you are, and what it is like where you are not. Then request a blank postcard … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In the Company of Solitude, Vol. I

Posted on January 8, 2024 by John Biscello

During the summer of 2023, I had the privilege and joy of spending six weeks in Japan, based in Niigata, with short trips to Tokyo, Kyoto and Sado Island. I enjoyed the flaneur’s giddy and childlike luxury of wandering streets … Continue reading →

Posted in Artwork, Audio, Cinema, photography, Poetry, Prose, Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Return to Sender

Posted on January 8, 2024 by John Biscello

Write an affectionate letter to six-year-old you who imagined you as the sort of person who would one day write an affectionate letter to six-year-old you. In advance preparation for what you might one day say to yourself, the envelope … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nails

Posted on January 8, 2024 by John Biscello

Paint your fingernails in the way you imagine your daughter would paint your fingernails. Have a daughter to paint your fingernails. Paint your daughter’s fingernails into tiny moons. Blow on the moons until they are dry and without worry. Compare … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment