Robert L. Dean, Jr.
Robert L. Dean, Jr. is the author of Pulp (Finishing Line Press, 2022); The Aerialist Will not be Performing: ekphrastic poems and short fictions to the art of Steven Schroeder (Turning Plow Press, 2020); and At the Lake with Heisenberg (Spartan Press, 2018). A multiple Pushcart and Best of the Net nominee, his work has appeared in or will be appearing in MockingHeart Review; October Hill Magazine; Flint Hills Review; I-70 Review; Chiron Review; The Ekphrastic Review; Sheila-Na-Gig online; Shot Glass; Illya’s Honey; Red River Review; KYSO Flash; MacQueen’s Quinterly; Thorny Locust; River City Poetry; Suisun Valley Review; and Waco WordFest Anthology 2022. Dean has been a professional musician and worked at The Dallas Morning News. He is a member of The Writers Place and Kansas Authors Club. He lives in Augusta, Kansas, midway between the Air Capital of the world and the Flint Hills.
Noir
nights linger like bruises
days pass and do not wave
mirrors empty upon reflection
memories forget
absence makes the heart
unmade bed on one side
shots in the dark the other
how do we solve for zero
every bullet a bullseye
red hot gun in red hot hand
exit wounds
before we enter
we meet in ill-lit dives
smoke drift dragons
each of us femme fatale
monochrome nightmares
late show replays night in day out
one survives
one haunts
both get away with murder
