I stop to watch this homeless guy lying down with his back against a garbage can on the sidewalk of one of the busiest areas in downtown San Francisco. Alternating between forefingers, he picks out boogers which he proceeds to wipe on the sidewalk. The expression on his face is almost orgasmic. His eyes are half closed and his lips seem to be offering gentle kisses to some imaginary goddess. I continue to watch him while trying to imagine what it must feel like to no longer care what other people think, or for that matter even be aware of their presence. After cleaning out what appears to be all that remained inside his nose he completely shuts his eyes, and making himself as comfortable as possible, he now appears ready for a nap. He looks completely at peace with himself, unlike most of us passing by who have some place that we have to be—but don’t really want to be there. . .
NO LONGER CARING
I’m riding a stationary bike at my gym flipping through Entertainment Weekly when I realize that of the 100 or so faces that my eyes took in, I recognized only 4 or 5, and with that I reflect that this says something positive in that I no longer waste my time trying to keep up with the latest singers, actors, and television personalities-- that I don’t care if I ever see their movies, watch their television programs, or listen to their songs. And as I continue to peddle, I drop the magazine to the floor, realizing later that some beads of sweat have fallen onto the cover.
BIO
M.J. Shineface has published 121 novels and 108 collections of short stories, but she is mainly a poet whose work has appeared in 9,953 magazines and anthologies including the Luna Buna Review, and the Octo Puss Report. She’s won the Pushcunt Prize 61 times and been the recipient of a Guga Guga Heim Award 45 times. She’s also won the Putzler Prize 31 times, the Pen/Fuckher award for fiction 27 times and the Booger Prize 24 times. She is presently a full professor of Passing Gas at Up Your Ass University and a mother of seventeen illegitimate boys and girls ranging in ages from 7 months to 73 years. When she has free time she likes to play Pin The Tail On You-- if she can find you. . .
Bio: Jeffrey Zable is a teacher and conga drummer who plays Afro Cuban Folkloric music for dance classes and Rumbas around the San Francisco Bay Area. His poetry, fiction, and non-fiction have appeared in hundreds of literary magazines and anthologies. Recent writing in Serving House Journal, Sick Lit, Unscooped Bagel, Mocking Heart Review, Kairos, Dead King, Ink In Thirds, Tigershark, Weirderary, DogPlotz, Vending Machine Press, Third Wednesday, Kairos, Bookends Review, The Vein, Revolution John and many others.