WRITING NEWS!

So I haven't been doing all that much poetry lately, but, don't worry, because I've been writing more than ever. I recently completed a memoir called "The Natty Ice Diaries" and completed two other non-fiction books called "True Paranormal Stories" and "The Burnzo Papers". The former book, as you may have guessed, is a compilation of paranormal-related stories I've written over the years while the latter book is a compilation of current-events related articles/essays I've written.

I also recently started my sixth novel, a Milton-esque work of religious fiction entitled THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON. I made a teaser video to promote it, which you can view below. In fact, I've started making teasers for all my novels. Because I'm in a good mood and I like you, I will actually post three other teasers that I made for my novels BLOWTORTURE, JOHNNY CRUISE and SUPERMARKET ZOMBIES (watch them below).

Oh, and one more thing! I have several new and fun short non-fiction stories up at my other blog. Click HERE to check them out!

Thanks for reading, I love your body and stay tuned for more news!

WOMAN AND THE DRAGON (book teaser)

BLOWTORTURE (book teaser)

JOHNNY CRUISE (book teaser)

SUPERMARKET ZOMBIES! (book teaser)

CAUGHT IN THE WEB AGAIN

CAUGHT IN THE WEB AGAIN
by matt burns

Being nice
And feeling bad
I gave it an inch
Another inch
And another inch
And for every inch I gave
The more its web enveloped me

I should have noticed the web it was weaving
But the spider
Cunning as it was
Spun it real thin
And almost invisible to the eye
Like those sticky ones you run your face into
Walking on a summer's night

It exploited my weaknesses
It smelled my compassion
So it remained charismatic
Presented itself as needing help
Brought me closer
And closer
Closer

I got too close
And foolishly stayed still
Six webs woven through the arms!
I stayed close, offering more help
Six woven through the legs!
Needy it remained
As my soul drained
Six webs around the neck!

Eventually I started feeling uneasy
There were warning signs
The red flags started subtle
And then more obvious
Soon, they were blatant
But by that time it was too late
I was once again caught
Trapped
In the web of a manipulative personality

It's been crafted yet again,
Built better than a bastion.
These goddamn spiderwebs,
Force me to kill my compassion.

BLACK MASS

NOTE: I'm a huge admirer (is 'fan' a dirty word?) of Johnny Depp. I have always loved his acting roles and him as a person aside from the acting - his love of literature, friendship with Hunter Thompson etc. This poem has more to do with Hollywood than it does with Mr. Depp. It's simply a truthful account of how I felt after attending my first Hollywood movie premiere as a bystander amongst the crowd.


BLACK MASS 
by matt burns

Here I am in the middle of this crowd
Camera high above my head
My trusty third eye
Much higher than the other two
I see everything with this crazy zoom.

The crowd moves along with him
Down the steel barricades
It reminds me of a swarm of bees
Like the kind you see in a cartoon.
But I expected much worse
I envisioned a bunch of screeching boars
Sweating autograph hounds
Aggressive paparazzi.
In fact, I drank 24 ounces of Four Loco as precaution
I felt it was the only proper way to experience this
I needed desensitization
Armor.
I don't do well in crowds
Let alone movie premiere crowds
Not that I've ever been in one
I'm popping my cherry tonight.
But, no, the fans seem tamer than imagined
Everyone smells nice, too
An amalgam of perfumes and colognes, lotions, shampoos
Maybe this is the Four Loco talking
The twelve-percent alcohol volume
It's possibly changed my perception of the reality
Maybe it's not as ok as it seems.

I've been glued to the viewfinder mostly
It's been the only way I can see him
I decide to take one glance away
And holy shit!
He's there
In the flesh
Maybe ten feet away from me tops
A swarm of buzzing bees in front of me, of course
But about ten feet tops.
It's surreal
Everything 'til now has been media 
Images
Video
Film
But now he's 3-d reality.

He finishes signing the autographs 
Gives the fans a salute
Hugs his bodyguard in thanks
Hops into a black SUV
SUV speeds away
Crowd disburses
And I eventually disburse, too
Each street I walk becomes quieter
Darker
Quieter

I buy a 24oz. beer at the store on Beacon Street
Where is everyone?
I'm the only one in the place.
I find a dark bench on the BU campus, my alma mater
It's a good place to pour the beer into my thermos
It's the same thermos I had the Four Loco in.
I get most of it into the thermos
But it's frothy as hell
Shit!
Can only fit so much
I make sure nobody's close
And I drink what's left in the can.

I sip
It's dark
I'm alone
Damn, man
He seemed so cool!
I don't want to admit it
But he just seemed so cool!
Maybe I've caught the fever
The energy of adulation
Can't shake it
He just was so cool!

Seeing him tonight
Bodyguards surrounding him
Police men
Publicists
The whole entourage
It was the antithesis of this dark
Lonely 
Bench.
Going from buzzing movie premiere
To this dark emptiness
It's rattling.
I sit here
Sipping on a beer
Alone inside this empty vacuum of space
Feeling like such a nobody.

Obviously this is not true, you will say
I am a somebody
As much a somebody as him
That's cliche though
We're all full of worth, they say
You read it in every self-help book
Every motivational speaker preaches this good news
It really is true
We're all somebody
But, fuck it
Yes
No
Shake it off!
I'd be remiss if I denied the feelings
Maybe it's a disease I caught from the fans
Maybe Hollywood came into Boston like a demon
And totally fucked with my wiring!
That's what Hollywood's always done
Portrayed its stars to be gods
A true Black Mass perhaps it was
Celebrating idolatry
I was paddocked behind steel barriers with the herd
And there "He" was on the other side
He seemed so somebody
And I feel so nobody
My mind says not true
Remember those self-help books!
But my feelings
Right now
Say 
So 
True

#DOYOURJOB

#DOYOURJOB
by matt burns

Patriots opener
The new slogan
#doyourjob
They keep on hammering it home
Do your job
Do your job

Can't help but think about Hannah Arendt
Eichmann
The banality of evil
You know,
That Nazi who was on trial after the war
They asked him how could he commit such atrocities
I was just doing my job he said

I know, I know
The Patriots meant well
What to do amidst deflate-gate?
All you can do is
Do
Your
Job
Okay, I get that
But it's just being hammered home
Way too intensely
All over the news
All over Facebook
Do your job
#doyourjob

It's not happening on a conscious level
More in the shadowy subconscious
But the more I hear the slogan
The more 
And more 
I feel I'm being re-programmed 
Brainwashed
With a philosophy of amorality

I NEED TO FORGET

I NEED TO FORGET

by matt burns

It's been fourteen years
And all you see on Facebook
Never forget
Never forget
Hashtag
#neverforget

I need to forget
Everybody feels they gotta relive it
So they "never forget"
But what's the point of terrorizing ourselves?
Doesn't that make 9/11 a perpetual terror machine?

And what is NEVER FORGET
But a slogan
Probably created by a government PR firm
So we keep on never forgetting
Terrorizing oursleves
And they keep on using the event as their wild card
Justifying whatever war
Whatever intervention
Whatever surveillance
Whatever raping of our constitutional rights
Whatever "Patriot" Act
That serves their latest agenda

I respect those who died
I respect those who rescued
Including the one last remaining rescue dog (I love dogs)
I respect the hell out of all 'em
But don't make me feel guilty for not terrorizing myself anymore
That's what those in power want
To make us feel real guilty
How dare you forget, they insinuate
Keep reliving those events
Over
And over
Again
So we can take your fear
Manipulate it
And use it to get what we want
#neverforget

DEFLATE-GATE WAS AN INSIDE JOB*

DEFLATE-GATE WAS AN INSIDE JOB*
by matt burns

Deflate-gate was an inside job*

Multiple Superbowl wins
Broken records
Greatest quarterback ever
Most popularity ever
Things have plateaued
Where to go from here?

Deflate-gate was an inside job*

'Til now, it's mostly been a man's sport
Women like the drama
So write them some drama
A scandal
A soap opera
Starring a dreamy hunk
Tom Brady

Deflate-gate was an inside job*

The court battles go on
And on
No resolution
'Wells' reports
Rulings
Appeals

Deflate-gate was an inside job*

And just in the nick of time
Right before the opener
Hooray
Suspension lifted
Tom Brady is exonerated
David beats Goliath
A giant victory for Patriots nation

Deflate-gate was an inside job*

The new season has a new story hook
Prove those haters wrong
Prove those deflated balls had
Nothing
To do with the wins
That's the story
That's the drama
Entertaining for the
Biggest
General
Audience 
EVER

Deflate-gate was an inside job*

*I have no hard evidence to substantiate such claims but I'm going to use Wells report lingo and say "it's more than probable".

TRYING TO TAKE IT ALL IN

TRYING TO TAKE IT ALL IN
by matt burns

Last little stroll before I have to leave
Back and forth
Back and forth along the shore
Trying to take it all in
Can't leave 'til I'm satisfied
I stop 
And stare into the horizon
Pry my eyes wider with my fingers
Trying to suck
Or soak it all in
Just a little more
Little more
The waves crash on the shore
And crash
It's time to go now
I turn and walk away
But I turn around again
One more look at the ocean
I'm still not satisfied
Still feel there's more to take in
The other vacationers seem so content
I'm here
In this beautiful place
And I can't get content
What I take in 
Is 
Never 
Enough