Joseph A. Pinto

barflypoet & author of dark fiction

 

 

perfectly whole yet not quite together…

 

‘monachopsis’

 

a thousand interlocking pieces yet none hold the smooth to slip me in. a shape with projection i seem to push the mass away. even if we lock would i ever want to conform to your spatial monotony? i hear what you’re saying but it’s falling on deaf ears. you want me here but a path leads from the sash i’ve left open. inch turned to gap. the draft never turned your head to notice so neither will the guilt when i move on. it’s a pretty picture when all comes together. there’s a hole in the middle rendering it obsolete.

 

listen to this poem

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved.

From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

www.etsy.com/shop/JosephPinto 

 

 

‘death no matter’

 

these people

they think i die to drink

no, no friends

 

i drink to die.

 

listen to this poem

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved.

From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

www.etsy.com/shop/JosephPinto 

 

 

do you stay well after the curtain drops…?

 

‘playbill’

 

fifth act. we find our protagonist once fool now hanged man center stage and all unfolding behind eyes does so unaware of severed cords to facial expression and while heart trembles worrisomely to outcomes beyond measure he’ll suspend expectation and keep forever his surrender

 

waiting.

 

listen to this poem

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved.

From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

www.etsy.com/shop/JosephPinto 

 

 

 

Hey guys, so I’m doing some thing a little different.

I’d love to get your honest opinion on my new book blurb. Yep, I just let the cat out of the bag. We’rew gunning for its release end of summer 2023.

I’m not giving away the title, but I’m very excited for you all to read it. I’ll be dropping more promo and hints soon enough.

Please reply with your email so I can send you the blurb. It’s less than 100 words, so not much of a time stealer.

I thank you all in advance!

Joe

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved.

From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

www.etsy.com/shop/JosephPinto 

 

 

where are the fresh voices and deliveries?

why is so much presented for the eyes

and not crafted from the heart?

 

‘beacon’

 

we live in a world

of posers and followers

desperate for the

free and brave

to liberate us

from all the shit.

 

listen to this poem

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved.

From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

www.etsy.com/shop/JosephPinto 

 

‘band-aid, she always uses a band-aid’

 

he’s interesting—

he’s well-traveled

he’s a musician on weekends

he’s single

but he’s not my type.

 

i listen to her words

and shake my head sadly

knowing she’ll find a reason

to take him up on a night out.

 

listen to this poem

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved.

From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

www.etsy.com/shop/JosephPinto 

 

looking thru the glass. and seeing nothing…

 

‘assassin’

 

something’s swimming in my snifter that shouldn’t be. maybe part of a bug or yet another piece of myself i’ve been forced to swallow and now repeats in untimely fashion like when i want to forget the knife holes in my back. usually i ignore all leaking down my spine but it’s hard when all i want to really say goes whistling through. i’m sure if i had you alone you’d see i’ve crossed your name off from my list. a concise unshaking line that speaks of cold-blooded laces knotted to shoes walking on. the rich irony to be mocked as boy who conjures things he can’t see when quite clearly here you are holding conversation with a ghost. when next i greet you, and you, and you, i’ll glide untethered and true in the knowing a single shot took me out and into peace. until then i’ll knock back this booze and ignore the defineless particles which once i may have been but surely now no more.

 

listen to this poem

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved.

From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

 

 

you figure things out the hard way…

 

‘yes isn’t always the answer’

 

yes isn’t always the answer

i couldn’t figure out

what he meant

but it became clearer

after several shots of irish whiskey

 

look, sometimes you have to grow balls

and stick up for yourself

be a man and not some compliant pussy

that rolls over to your woman.

 

he suddenly got a text from his wife

and hurried home.

 

i poured whiskey down my throat

stumbled in at 4am

walked into walls

pissed in the sink

and caught holy hell.

 

listen to this poem

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved.

From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

 

Hey guys! I’d like to say thank you to all who have taken time to not only read but listen to the prose & poetry I have crafted & shared to this point as the barflypoet.

 

You know, there’s writing words to describe a picture you see with your eyes. Then there’s pouring out with tangibility what you feel in your heart. I do my best striving for the latter. It may not work well for those seeking simplified gratification, but waders don’t belong in my ocean. So I truly appreciate you risking deeper waters along with me!

 

I’m often faced with a quandary. As a writer, I want to be read, felt & noticed. But at the same time, I don’t enjoy shining a light on myself. That said, I’m going to start nudging outside my comfort zone.

 

So here’s my first step: I’d like to introduce you to my Etsy shop! Here you’ll find signed copies of my books (which I can easily personalize) as well as an initial selection of older poems that I have handwritten on parchment paper.

 

Have you read something of mine recently that resonates & you’d like for your own? Then reach out & I can gladly discuss getting it to you!

 

My Etsy shop can be found at:  www.etsy.com/shop/JosephPinto 

 

Again, thank you for your support. I am grateful for the truly special and cool people I’ve met on this journey!

 

Joe

 

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved.

From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.

 

 

and here hanging is a wardrobe of uncertainty…

 

‘gallimaufry’

 

here, there, you left your face and if only i knew which expression belonged. eyes constantly turning, mouth always churning and one nail is not enough to raise you up and into light. there’s a plastic to your condition that doesn’t agree under the ridges of my fingertips. i can’t collect you any longer. i can’t listen to the fabrication of your syllables mimicking the drop of my lids. i can’t take that drawl of a head nod pretending you understand each turn of a day brings about another how did it go wrong. i’d brush you a thousand different ways if i had the color. i’d hide you a million more with cover. so tell me how to navigate hours when i can’t steer minutes thru storms. drywall prepared with neat holes of precision and the decision of which facade to pull down is a tortuous one.

 

listen to this poem

#barflypoet

#josephapinto

© Copyright Joseph A. Pinto. All Rights Reserved.

From My Front Steps,’ ‘Scotch and Scars’ and ‘A Distilled Spirit’ in paperback and Kindle ebook at Amazon.