O:JA&L Poetry: All forms & styles
Robert Beveridge
FRITTO MISTO
When the cat gets into the corn
crib and gets stuck, or refuses
to come out. When you peel
the entire egg in one strip. When
your tank drops below a quarter
and gas went up forty cents
a gallon that morning. When
your neighbor comes by with twenty
pounds of alligator he doesn’t
have room for in his freezer.
When defcon two is just another
Wednesday. When you cooked
the skirt steak just long enough
to shred with a fork but the daikon
didn’t turn to mush. When you get
the twenty-fifth rejection notice
on your best poem. When the fever
breaks and you can keep liquids
down again. When you find out
on the third date she’s a closet
Nickelback fan. When it’s all just
enough.
About the writer:
Robert Beveridge (he/him) makes noise (xterminal.bandcamp.com) and writes poetry on unceded Mingo land (Akron, OH). He published his first poem in a non-vanity/non-school publication in November 1988, and it’s been all downhill since. Recent/upcoming appearances in Tension Literary, Horror Sleaze Trash, and Common House, among others.
Image: The Mystery of Proper Order (AI-assisted digital image) by O:JA&L staff creative. 2025. Public domain via MidJourney AI.
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O:JA&L’S BUTTONHOOK PRESS MASTERS SERIES
Click on the titles below to explore or download the free PDF chapbooks in the O:JA&L Masters Series.
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: Tom Hazuka 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
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