Short Shots by Alan Catlin

Alternating Current features Alan Catlin’s collection titled Short Shots in their Pocket Protector Series as their 8th installment. Alan Catlin is raw and fresh in his portrayal of bar life and its characters which he divides into two sections titled “Part One: Short” and “Part Two: Shots.” Here are a few chosen poems:


Tequila Sunset

The inside of his head
a perfect tequila azul,
his wet brain soaking in
a lemon-lime emulsion;
the salt lick of his lips
white as death.


The descriptive language of this poem is superb, don’t you think?



One ski pole broken off at
the point, the other implanted
in ice, just a slight handicap
to make life more interesting
on those nights you could hear
him calling out from a mile away
as he made his way toward the bar.

An eerie poem, you can imagine any sort of man coming out of the darkness and causing goose bumps to rise on your skin with this poem.



Pink Lady

She sat on the veranda
dressed in pink lace,
sipping her cocktails as
proper as could be,
letting the cool, summer
air surround her, creating
an aura, a still life, complete
with a quarter moon overhead.
It was well known that her
table was reserved every
Saturday night all summer long.
Was some kind of local legend:
hot like fire but fragile like
porcelain or glass, creating a mood,
a space, that no one would dare violate.
In the Winter she vanishes.
No one knows where she goes.

This is another great character description and makes me want to visit outdoor cafes and imagine other people’s lives. Or, perhaps be the Pink Lady.



If you enjoyed these poems, you’ll be happy to hear the chapbook is only $3.00 at the Propaganda Press Catalog. Alan Catlin’s Short Shots is #8 in the Pocket Protector Series which means it literally fits in the palm of your hand and delivers snapshots of its characters and of bar life in palatable form. Remember that with every chapbook you order, Altnerating Current throws in a free chapbook from archives and pays royalties to their poets, a win-win for all.

Thanks always for reading, please click in tomorrow for more Poems Found by Poet Hound…