Casey Killingsworth

Big idea

I would have loved to have been bitten in the ass by fame.
And money of course. I would have loved to maintain
my humble self, sprinkling a little of my wealth to others,
would have maybe even bought you a Corvette.

That big idea used to grip me as I sat around
poor and needy and ego famished.
Now here I am, staring at this brush fire
I built to clean up the yard,

listening to the rain touching down. And
I think I might have right here perfect synergy,
cold rain cooling the heat of the fire and the heat
warming my face back up,

two sort-of-healthy kids, a beer under my belt
and if you say that’s just sour grapes because I never
got famous, maybe you should come sit
right here right next to me and hear this rain,
feel this fire.

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Casey Killingsworth has been published in numerous journals including The American Journal of Poetry, Better Than Starbucks, The Moth, and 3rd Wednesday. He is the author of A nest blew down (Kelsay Books, 2021), and a new collection, Freak show (Fernwood Press), arrived in June 2024.