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This writing was accepted for publication in the 84 page perfect-bound issue of cc&d (v237) (the October 2012 Issue) You can also order this 5.5" x 8.5" issue as an ISSN# paperback book:

Order this writing in the book Cheap Thrills cc&d 2012 collection book		get the 228 page Sept. - Dec. 2012 cc&d magazine issue collection 6" x 9" ISBN# paperback book:

enjoy this writing in the ISBN# spiral-bound datebook (released January 2013) the 2013 poetry date book			get this poem collection 6" x 9" ISBN# paperback book:

Order this writing in the book After the Apocalypse (poetry edition) (the 2012 poetry collection book)		get this poem collection 6" x 9" ISBN# paperback book:

A Coffeehouse of the Mind

Bradley Bates

I’ve walked into the desert,
onto the mountainside top of peaks,
and into the whiskey air
of a coffeehouse, a favorite place
to hang out, drink, and write or
work on something needing attention,
like grading papers and planning
to teach for the very next day.
The espresso came from the owner’s
brother still in Hawaii. I had friends,
myself included, who read poems
and short stories with hopes
praise would arise. I began to
sicken but didn’t quite know what
to call my transforming, psychotic
mind--I used to think all cars with
headlights on during the day
pointed out I was around, so
the entire population of the world
knew my location to top me off
the canyon, like the coffee
with an added shot flowed over
the mug until I was wiped clean
from this world by their
locomotive feet and hands
I never could escape.

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