Featured Poet: Michael Duckwall
Good morning and welcome to another Feature Thursday! Today is local, Indiana poet Michael Duckwall! Michael is an incredible writer and artist who's had multiple pieces showcased and sold in Madison, has written two chapbooks and been in a plethora of anthologies and served on the production team for multiple poetry events. He's also the host of the Scottsburg Indiana Open Mic. To say he's inspiring is an understatement, I could only dream of doing half as much as he does. He's also one of the nicest people you could meet and would do anything in the world to help if you asked. He's been a feature multiple times and was in fact the first feature originally posted to the old site. I am beyond thrilled to have him back! Check out some poems, and a piece of art, below
Bottoms Up..
I'm always washing things
Clothes, dishes, myself
I'm the dirtiest of these
Even when I don't use nonstick spray
Bake it at 500 degrees
Set a timer, 30 minutes
Listen for the beep
Lord knows
We don't want it to burn
Even when I crawl through mud all day
Wade in shit knee deep
That's just a normal 24hrs
For you and me here on planet Earth
I'm the dirtiest by far
No Dawn
No Tide
No Borax will help
No Mr. Clean with his baldness
Winking that I'm all sparkly
Not even Irish Spring will do the job
Although I can whistle the tune
If you'd like
No, just me in my filth
I'm so damn dirty
A bottle of bleach doesn't even help
Unless it's drank
Shots all around
I'm buying for me and my friends
Bottoms up
We're all dirty
Outlaw poets
Until the end
Unfortunately
This is just that
Until the Dream Ends..
Each breath could be my last
Each step may lead to a fall
Still I breathe in, move forward
Will you be there to catch me?
The sun didn't rise today
It found a bed to sleep in
Looking for a light
Where none are ever found
Each breath by chance
This life’s over so fast
Living until we don't
Until we won't
Until the dream ends
Each fall a step, each step a fall
I'm here at the bottom
I will catch you
I found the light we've all been looking for
Rapidly fading
The sun snores
It's not waking up this morning
Lying in a bed full of dreams
I breathe
I wait
We move together
Madness..
I broke down today
No other reason than life
It's madness
Trying to stay positive
When everything always goes to shit
How do people do it?
Take these glasses off
I'm done seeing through the lie
But now that I put them on
I have second sight
I broke down today
These visuals always replay
In the back of my mind
Seeing the end
Before anything has a chance to begin
Why'd I put these glasses on?
Oh, I remember
Life was already shit
I thought I'd see beauty
Not just more of it
I broke down today
Two tears rolled down my face
How do y'all keep it together?
It's madness
Bondage..
“You can exercise your freedom in such a way
That it brings you into bondage
Then, you are no longer free.”
A belt across the back, my own fist clenches it
A relaxed grasp, falling from my hand
Brass buckle, threaded, wrapped around neck
I'm no longer free, none of us are
This body a sentence, a penance
Where charity ran out a very long time ago
The whippings, the sting, the blood, the smile
On your face or mine? Both perverse
How much longer can we balance ourselves on one leg?
A relaxed grasp, a falling something or other..
Imposter..
Soloist, perfectionist, a so-called expert
I read a list of the different types of imposter syndrome
And feel as if I'm all three combined
In the back of my mind I hear myself whispering
“I don't deserve this.”
“I never will”
Not these doubts in my head, I deserve them
But the success that I've gotten
I find myself stumbling over “Congratulations”
Falling down during “High five” situations
I trip myself up again and again
I don't know how much longer I can carry on
I feel like I'm acting a part
That doesn't belong to me
This script was written for someone else
Soloist, perfectionist, a so-called expert
I'm all three, an imposter of the worst kind
I keep trying and trying
Still, my thoughts whisper
“I don't deserve any of this”
No smile
No hug
No kiss
I stumble over “Congratulations”
I fall down giving “High fives”
Bio:
Michael E. Duckwall is a poet, artist and activist from southern Indiana who has three chapbooks: “Ramblings of a Recovering Poet” published by Pure Sleeze Press, “7.2 SkullQuake” published by Cajun Mutt Press, the limited edition “Kraken Nuts” co-authored with Chad M. Horn and has been featured in numerous anthologies/magazines. He hosts a monthly open mic in Scottsburg Indiana. Michael has also worked behind the scenes as part of production teams for a 57hr non-stop music/poetry Insomniacathon in Louisville KY 2024 and Gonzofest NOLA 2025.
You can find his chapbook Ramblings of a Recovering Poet here https://a.co/d/01CFjwOd and his chapbook 7.2 SkullQuake here https://a.co/d/04XWnHNa
Thank you Michael, for being today’s feature!