John Casey
John Casey graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1992 and from Florida State University with a Master of Arts in 1994. A 22-year Veteran, John served globally as a tactical airlift and developmental test pilot, and later as an international affairs strategist and military diplomat in Germany, Ethiopia, and at the Pentagon. John’s work has appeared in Into The Void Magazine, The Remembered Arts Journal, The Flumes Literary Journal, Anapest Journal, Pamplemousse, and elsewhere. His writing is inspired by the incredible spectrum of people and cultures he has experienced throughout his life. FB Page Address: @rawthoughts.org
Sweet Nothings
A Hallmark card, a knowing smile
Heartfelt devotion in a well-timed text
Fancy flowers and a bonbon box
Recognition for that milestone event
Then back to reality
We’ll endure between the mandatories
The red letters and festive family fêtes
The token tributes, the curtain raisers
And suffer through
The blasé Groundhog Day drudgery
Days of wish you weren’t here
So I could do what I want
The circadian affliction
Of so many things about you
That irritate the hell out of me
All the mind-numbing, excruciating effort
That goes into achieving
The absolute minimum acceptable standard of civility
It’s our bulimic rendition of a normal relationship
We work so hard at it
And it’s bearable
Because low and behold
There’s another Hallmark
Right around the corner
We’ll put aside
The thinly veiled disdain for a day
It’ll be all love yous and hugs
And top-shelf chocolates
And we’ll be consoled somehow
By the odd notion
That it’s the thought that counts
Sheila-Na-Gig Inc. 