Poetry: Selections from Ken Kakareka

giant’s cry

i see you 

william taylor jr. 

& your 

sadness. 

it sifts thru 

san francisco 

like the ghosts 

of dead poets. 

i am 1 

of the 7 

according to 

your poem 

“in search of it” 

reading 

your shit 

& feeling 

the sting 

of truth 

in your words. 

haunting 

as they 

may be 

they awaken 

a rumbling 

giant 

in all 

of us 

that was 

either 

sleeping 

or turning 

a blind eye 

to your 

cry. 

it echoes 

a universal 

sorrow 

which is 

why 

we need 

you 

to keep 

churning out 

the truth.

made it 

i did my 

first live 

poetry reading 

at 37. 

my book 

of poems 

had just 

come out, 

so i figured 

what the 

hell. 

the place 

was full of 

young 

insecure 

impressionable 

kids. 

one had 

a nervous 

breakdown 

on stage 

right before 

i went up. 

another 

seized my arm 

as i exited 

stage left. 

“I’LL BUY 

THAT BOOK 

FROM YOU!” 

check amazon, 

kid. 

but he 

wouldn’t accept 

no 

for an answer. 

so i had 

to sell it 

to him 

for 30% 

off with 

the doodling. 

a young gay 

got mad 

at me 

b/c i stole 

the show 

from him.  

he was 

used to 

getting all 

the attention. 

it was 

a fun night 

overall

for me and 

my wife. 

she cheered 

like a 

wild boar

when i exited 

the stage. 

i took her 

home 

and munched 

her box 

good. 

we made it 

that night. 

some nights 

you do.

slime

it’s not 

supposed to 

sound like 

a poem. 

it’s not 

even really

supposed to 

look like 

a poem, 

really. 

it isn’t 

supposed to 

try. 

it’s 

supposed to 

shoot right 

out 

like slime 

from an 

asshole 

with 102 

fever. 

Ken Kakareka is an American writer of works of fiction and nonfiction, such as BULLSHIT (Anxiety Press, 2024) and Summer of Irresponsibility (Alien Buddha Press, 2023). He is a 2025 Best of the Net nominee.