Francisco Franco Strapped Up to a Space-Age Life Support Machine, November 1975. by John Doyle

Whispers on the street - hell's guts shake, rattle, and roll,

fingers from faces gaunt, eyeless poking through, pinch mementos from his skin;

he asks how hard can it be to die,

a sudden scorch of Gernika, the flesh of Barcelona, punctured on the brittle calcium of his unilateral streets -

all quite ironic really, bones once used as drumsticks for marching bands

shake, rattle, roll, in the music of his roaring silent death;


and Satan's cadence beeps in a music-choking time

John Doyle became a Mod again in the summer of 2017 to fight off his impending mid-life crisis; whether this has been a success remains to be seen. He has has two collections published to date, A Stirring at Dusk in 2017, and Songs for Boys Called Wendell Gomez in 2018, both on PSKI's Porch.

He is based in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. All he asks is that you leave your guns at the door and tie up your horses before your enter.