O:JA&L Poetry: All forms & styles
John Dorroh
KILLING TIME IN THE O’FALLON, ILLINOIS,
CITY LIBRARY WHILE WAITING ON LINDA
TO HAVE A HEART CATHETERIZATION
The kid in the next cubicle This is a noisy library. Too
doesn’t know that the nice lady noisy for me to read. So ironic.
sitting next to him Like finding macarons, baklava,
is getting paid $22.75 to help him and Mille-Feuille on the 1st floor.
navigate a book. They are talking And lessons on birds and flight,
a lot about birds a large-print annex for those
birds of prey, robins, cockateels, who can’t see so well. Portions
ravens, crows, and barn owls. of the carpet house excerpts
I’m hearing some math language, from the classics. Glass-walled
some yawns and a cell phone mini-conference rooms stuffed
which is supposed to be silenced. with people, some praying with
My bad says the nice lady. hands in the air, children’s art
There’s a coffee station and classes, and who knows what
pastry bar in this library. Things else. My neighborhood library
have changed. had a ban on all food and drink…
I am waiting for my friend Linda and talking. Giant Ssshhhhh signs
to have a heart catheterization. They posted on the walls and doors, crabby
will call me when she’s done. library matrons and a tabby cat
I’m supposed to be at home packing with three legs lying at the main
for my flight to Albuquerque. I will entrance, a makeshift mascot named
ride in the guts of a metallic bird Fletch. He meowed a rusty greeting
where everything’s for sell. Bring to all who entered. And here I am
your own snacks and don’t forget sitting in an un-library with all
to buy a bottle of water once you clear the amenities of a small affluent
security. city.
About the writer:
John Dorroh travels as often as possible. He inevitably ends up in other peoples’ kitchens exchanging culinary tidbits and telling tall tales. Once he baked bread with Austrian monks and drank a healthy portion of their beer. Six of his poems were nominated for Best of the Net. Others have appeared in over 100 journals, including Feral, North of Oxford, River Heron, Wisconsin Review, Kissing Dynamite, El Portal, and Loch Raven Review. He makes his home in Southwest Illinois not far from St. Louis. In his next life he would like to be a penguin.
Image: Aurelian Becoming Aware (AI-assisted digital image) by O:JA&L staff creative. 2026. Public domain via Midjourney AI.
OJAL Art Incorporated, publishing since 2017 as OPEN: Journal of Arts & Letters (O:JA&L) and its imprints Buttonhook Press, HOT BUTTON PRESS Contemporary Issues, and HIGH BUTTON PRESS Contemporary Art, supports writers and artists worldwide.
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series (from OPEN: Journal of Arts & Letters and its Buttonhook Press imprint) gathers acclaimed writers for concise, downloadable chapbooks that pair fresh work with candid reflections on craft. Each installment—often framed by an interview with an associate editor—opens a window onto how masters of poetry, prose poetry, flash fiction, and related hybrid forms build voice, compression, and surprise. Designed as a reader’s invitation and a writer’s toolbox, the series celebrates literary art that moves fast, cuts deep, and lingers long after the last line.
Click on the titles below to explore or download the free PDF chapbooks.
Prose Poetry and Flash Discourse
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Brian Clements on Prose Poetry
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Mark Budman on Flash Discourse
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Ray Gonzalez on Prose Poetry
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Master Series: Michael Martone on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Master Series: Roberta Allen on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Master Series: Peter Conners on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Maxine Chernoff on Prose Poetry
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Pedro Ponce on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Kent Dixon on Flash Fiction & Nonfiction
With an interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
MIixed Forms: Haibun, Haiga, & Tanka Prose
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Roberta Beary on Haibun
With an interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
Experimental Discourse
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Jim Meirose on Experimental Discourse (XP)
With an interview by Associate Editor Warwick Newnham
Poetry: All forms & styles
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Poetry from Bruce McRae
With an Interview by Associate Editor Jeff Streeby
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Poetry from Richard Widerkehr
With an Interview by Associate Editor Jeff Streeby
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