A Pirate Only Knows. by Jeff Bagato

Nothing to lose

on a losing streak—

the feast always

comes to an end

Dancers and runners

usually end up lame;

a wad of cash

de-wads too soon

when friends or taco

trucks come around

A bottle of rum

soon goes dry,

but a pirate only knows

the fickle joys of fate,

regarding all coin as cold,

all love as lost,

all spoils as spent,

until the next ship sails

for the rising, burning sun

A multi-media artist living near Washington, DC, Jeff Bagato produces poetry and prose as well as electronic music and glitch video. His text and visual poetry has appeared in many journals including Empty Mirror, Otoliths, Slipstream, Chiron Review, and Gold Wake Live. Short fiction has appeared in Gobbet and The Colored Lens. His published books include And the Trillions (poetry), and The Toothpick Fairy (fiction). A blog about his writing and publishing efforts can be found at http://jeffbagato.wordpress.com.