Dan Holt is blues singer/songwriter/recording artist, poet and fiction author from a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. He has produced 11 albums of original music along with various singles and eps. Like most writers, his work has been published in various tiny online and print journals. After many years away from the poetry scene, Dan has returned to writing poetry in 2021. Recent publications featuring his work include Rusty Truck, Punk Noir Magazine, Rye Whiskey Review, Rust Belt Review, and Dumpster Fire Press: Voices From The Fire. His first book, “Blank Canvas On Bloody Pavement,” is forthcoming from Alien Buddha Press.

Summer Sunshine

He was always
waiting for summer
he said there was
something about
the sunshine
that made him
forget
who he was
forget
what he’d done
and he could
walk among
the rest
and pretend
that nothing
had happened
pretend
that his nose
wasn’t filled
with the smell
of blood
and his ears
weren’t filled
with the sound
of death

Not Writing A Poem

Some days
there just isn’t enough
angst
to muster up
a verse
about suicide
to cobble together
sixteen lines
about death
and I just
have to write
that at least for today
I’m doing alright
and there is nothing
painful
to write about
nothing tragic
to depict
and just this
poem about
not writing a poem

Aspiration

I can’t think
of anything
I’d rather do
than stand
waste deep
in water
with my hands
around the neck
of some foe
real
or imagined

To stand
on a rock
by the shore
And let myself
fall 
into the 
ice cold water
knowing
that I can neither
float or swim

To run
blindfolded
into traffic
listening carefully
for the sound
of passing cars
hoping
to dodge
the collision
that I know
is coming




To walk
barefoot in
a snowstorm
feeling
the frostbite
take hold
as I lay
down to sleep
my last breath
frozen
in the air