For sure, for sure,
an hour of for sures,
nothing is for sure
nothing, nothing, nothing
take arbitrary love
unsure about that
unsure as dustiness
and difficulty
comprehending concise news items
about the detestable
and the statistics of indignity.
Two straight nights of cover tunes
they were sincere
as any saint making small talk
at a rollicking party
a painting on the wall of your youth
that might have been authentic.
It’s midmorning, sun-spattered outside
you calmly tell your questioner
costumed like a freshly bathed jester
you’re bleeding
profusely, I might add.
How are you doing?
the freshly bathed jester asks
and you make an extravagant fist
but have no idea
whom to punch
or lead away in chains.
J. J. Steinfeld, Canadian poet/fiction writer/playwright, lives on Prince Edward Island, where he is patiently waiting for Godot’s arrival and a phone call from Kafka. While waiting, he has published 25 books, including Madhouses in Heaven, Castles in Hell (Stories/Ekstasis Editions/2015), An Unauthorized Biography of Being (Stories/Ekstasis Editions/2016), Absurdity, Woe Is Me, Glory Be (Poetry/Guernica Editions/2017), A Visit to the Kafka Café (Poetry/Ekstasis Editions/2018), Gregor Samsa Was Never in The Beatles (Stories/Ekstasis Editions/2019), Morning Bafflement and Timeless Puzzlement (Poetry/Ekstasis Editions/2020), Somewhat Absurd, Somehow Existential (Poetry/Guernica Editions/ 2021), Acting on the Island (Stories/Pottersfield Press/2022), As You Continue to Wait (Poetry/Ekstasis Editions/2022) and My Post-Holocaust Second Generation Voice: History/ Memory/Identity (Poetry/Ekstasis Editions/2025).
ELEVENTH HOUR LITERARY 