still all remains

and he walks
barely thinking of
julia and the kids
rubs a tattoo on his forearm

those dogs drop for him
some cross entire streets
intimidated by the shaven head
and determined stride
he doesn’t care
he doesn’t read
he’s unaware

he stops to wipe a smudge from his shades
that mirror this world he passes through
in his eyes
you can witness the little war
exploding inside his head

careful
careful what you may say
careful what you might reveal

and we who ride these sullen streets
pretend to know the truth
make simple adjustments
live beyond our means

we tend to forget who we are
who we really are

Slipstream reviews with
michael baskinski

• Number 20. 2000
• Number 21. 2001

     Dan Sicoli (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) is co-founder and co-editor of Slipstream Magazine & Press, now in its 22nd year of publishing. His poetry has appeared in numerous litmags, e-zines, anthologies, and audio poetics cassette tapes including Chiron Review, All Shook Up: Collected Poems About Elvis, Sheila-Na-Gig, Bathtub Gin, Disquieting Muses, Nerve Cowboy, Spoken War, Flower Thief, Zero City, Prose Ax, Erosha, American Contemporary Headcheese, and Alpha Beat Soup. In 1999, he was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

      As a life-long resident of the working class neighborhoods of Niagara Falls, NY, Dan has worked in a variety of vocations including baker, district sales manager, letter carrier, housing coordinator, printer, cheese packer, and rhythm guitar player. He also makes his own sausage.

other online publications:

Disquieting Muses:
• http://www.disquietingmuses.com/May00/sicoli1.html
• http://www.disquietingmuses.com/May00/sicoli2.html
Thunder Sandwich:
• http://www.thundersandwich.com/ts12/sicoli.html
Stirring
Bulkhead
Naked Poetry
Erosha

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