All I Could Think About, Late-Night Viewing Habits

To the global phenomenon encountered

At the document shredding event 

Immediately sure to be my favorite follow

Her feed forever mine.

Her smile a deep house blend

Vibey with insider knowledge

She’s aint gone to school

Just to ride the bus.

Fiercely compelling

Fiercely tender

Nice and thicc

Thighs to dies for.

I want to synch biolinguistically 

I want a piece of that vulcanized wallop

But the only prime I get

Anymore is from Amazon.

So I aint did nothing

I aint said shit

But I appreciate her kindness

Entrusting me with a knowing smile.

Copyright 2025 Randy Stark

www.randystark.com

Swansong for Paradise

With global temperatures set at sweat lodge 

And celebrity chefs baked into audio landscapes

And wingless wasps DMing their asses off

With everything all regulated and shit

Vis-a-vis green barrel waste

The pot calling the kettle 

Sewage overflow

Random errors in duplication

Guitars with twelve necks.

I get no kicks in subverting expectations

But things be turning gnarlier

And I’m pretty gutted about it

Scientists and experts agree

Permafrost ain’t perma no mo

And that’s why your dog 

He’s a honey of a sleeper I mean but

You made the qualifying purchases

You earned the bonus miles.

And there you are chewing off your own mind

Tryna free yourself from the brands

Tryna extricate yourself from the apps

Stuck at the wrong gate of the wrong airport

In the wrong capital of the wrong country

On the wrong continent of the wrong planet

In the wrong galaxy of the wrong universe

I mean that to me

Serious alarm bells.

Copyright 2025 Randy Stark

www.randystark.com

A Couple of Ways of Looking at It

What went wrong No glasses Underdressed No croissant No books Goddamit send me their number But the pier The bodies It’s good I hate myself soft talking And then you know because I’m not a techie But I’m following I’m so on edge and so look St. Margaret breaks her silence At some point it becomes abandonment Crushed dried cured Money in public looks funny Shopping colorful vegetables and fruits Squash and peppers Heh You’re so funny Stripes and solids When are you due Shapes and forms I’m going home and then I’m going home for the weekend and then I’m going home tomorrow and then I’m going home. People wanting to look good Carlos dial 109 Carlos 109 please Donut holes for all of us I knownjajajaha 

What went wrong

No glasses

Underdressed

No croissant

No books

Goddamit send me their number

But the pier

The bodies

It’s good

I hate myself soft talking

And then you know because I’m not a techie

But I’m following

I’m so on edge and so look

St. Margaret breaks her silence

At some point it becomes abandonment

Crushed dried cured 

Money in public looks funny

Shopping colorful vegetables and fruits

Squash and peppers

Heh

You’re so funny

Stripes and solids

When are you due

Shapes and forms

People wanting to look good

Carlos dial 109 Carlos 109 please

I’m going home and then 

I’m going home for the weekend and then 

I’m going home tomorrow and then 

I’m going home.

Donut holes for all of us

I knownjajajaha

Copyright 2025 Randy Stark

www.randystark.com

The Space Between Solids

Julian of Everywhere, bracketologist and

Seasoned captivating electronic presence

They kind of like pivoted to streaming

Fell hard for the rich creamy formula

Anything for the clip

And slipped into the abyss of

Smug self-assurance meets crazy bag of

US No.1 grown-in-Idaho potato chips

Lost their shit

Faced heavy cancellation fees

100% derailed. 

Pivoted to screaming

Same endzone, different field

Bundled aggro-cultural babble with

High risk metonymy

A whole new echo system

Maratón en Chihuahua

Parachutes in Shinjuku

But the exit strategy didn’t work

Went right to free falling like it was voice mail

Sheltering in place on the way down

And then come to find out they weren’t covered.

Copyright 2025 Randy Stark

www.randystark.com

 

 

Congrats to subTerrain Magazine Issue #100

As part of the celebration, Issue #100 contains several pieces “from the vault”, and I’m honored to have a story of mine (from the vault indeed: circa 1992, Issue #8) among them.

 Issue #100