9/19/14

Elvis Zero
By William Stobb


This was in the new desert behind the Hilton, past the narrow alley where trucks back up for dumpsters of tribute to the King in Ruby Jumpsuit. All the thrusting in Famous Hound Dog made static, and the magnetic field networked from the ballads to Flamingo Marquee went pulsar in Groin of Many Colors. This is not a test. Language will zip like once called sky along the rocket-carved lip line. Language will not land lovers and combatants who minus one themselves in the Volunteer sky now. Achieve curvature of mind and recall Cleopatra’s orgasm. Activate for courage the Battles of Kahn. Attempt another thousand years in this second but find the command infected. Limbs in whirl spiral to FBI contact. Hand of Nixon. Activate paralyzing gaze of southern mystery. Activate Cleopatra in Halo of Innocence made rose by knowledge of her appetites. Command infected. Command infected. Activate Flamingo Marquee for no update and feel the twang of release in the system. Recall the ballads. Save screen with “All Elvises Are As Elvis Is” in scroll. Process final deductions or proceed to not with an open test and unpaid debit. Search back to results page billion and code out one Elvis first love jpeg. Anticipate command freeze and zero. Recall flesh of Debra Paget. Run the code. Process embrace. Command freeze. Elvis Zero.


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William Stobb is the author of five poetry collections, including the National Poetry Series selection, Nervous Systems (Penguin 2007). He works on the editorial staff of Conduit, and co-authored the stage play, Predator: The Musical, which sold out four Chicago runs in 2011 and 2012 and is still available for production.