Instagram story viewer> @vampboy1989> Posts

Michael Joseph Denetelli

@vampboy1989

15

followers

522

following

Video Footage of my first like poetry reading can be found through the link that follows: https://youtu.be/-MOjhyng7xs

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

I Cried

I cried for
You yesterday. It did not
Rise up in me as
Your anger had after
Your fallout with your Mother
After she had thrown
You out of the house
Two days before college, though.
It rather seemed to balloon
Out of my nose, mouth, eyes,
And face, haphazard and surprisingly,
As I listened to an audio-book that
Afternoon. The words, of music
And vibration being felt
By a deaf woman, made
Me think of the heat in you
For some reason, and
How your presence always fed
And channeled the sunlight to me
So Reliably. At the licking
And lash of all that heat,
I gave in and cried. I
Could not even perceive it
Directly as it was happening
To me, but then and there,
The tears came out
Anyway. Could you say
The same?

Do and Say

Give her something
To do, and
She will meet with
Your challenge beautifully.
Give me something to
Say, and I will
Meet with your challenge beautifully.
Those things about us
Were what made us
So delicious, I think.
We were the ultimate doer
And the ultimate sayer
Of both our respective worlds.
So, how could we
Not, sweetly, and in real fellowship,
If only for a time, come together
Eventually? That’s why we
Both cared for one another so;
Because with each of
Us, in the realm of
Our respective gifts, everything
Must be just so,
Or else it will not
And cannot go.
In our eyes,
If for the briefest
Time we both saw
Want of all lack.

If I Ever Get Out More

If I ever
Get out more, I
Hope to see you,
And get to know
You for real
No nudity, no bad
Jokes (from me)
And no bullshit: just us,
Slightly like before, but
More: just us
As we really are!
It’s not a
Salient prospect, but
It is a hope
That I have, for
All that hope
May be worth to
Either you or I
At this time.
My life, though,
Will always
Be different because
We, in our
Small way, carved out
A corner for
Ourselves within it.
We were good
While we lasted; and
Maybe, one day,
I hope (yes, I said it)
Real life can
Make us better:
To ourselves and
For ourselves one day. taken in Omaha, Nebraska by @vampboy1989

7

5

2 months ago

Poems for this Month's Reading:

Why Is That

When we’re hungry,
We say: I
Have the munchies,

But never when
We’re horny do
We say: I

Have the fuckies.
Think about that!
Why is that?

Could it be
That for the
Rest of the

World that leap
In language is
Just too strained

For anyone else
To have ever
Tried to come

Up with that notion?
Maybe the world
Has too much

To do—and
All that I have

Is too much
Time? I don’t
Know, but it

Does merit thinking
About, it seems
To me, in

Any case. I
Would like to
Say more, naturally,

But my dignity
Is far too precious
To me. So

Now, I think
I’ll simply have
A bit of Breakfast.

-01/13/26

Still Feel

You still feel like
Home—like something that
Neither time, nor
Any outward circumstance could
Ever erase.
You still feel
Like something deep
And essential to me
From my past
That I had forgotten about
And now can’t help
But feel touched by
On merest sight.
You were not
A dream—you were
Not my everything—and we
Both knew that you
Never could be anyway.
You were a truth, and
That, for me, is as
Easily and sweetly
Clung to as anything.
You were firm—you
Were so constant with
Me that I think of
Your eyes, and I think of
Your face, three months now
Since our severance, and
I still feel you here.
You have not gone, you
Will never go—you are
Everywhere.

Like a Caged Gorilla on Angel Dust

Why do I
Feel like a
Caged gorilla on

Angel Dust whenever
I think of us,

My Uncle and
I, and any
Argument that we

May potentially have
About politics, in
The future? The

Last time he
Was here and
Belted garbled praises

As to Trump,
I was in
The right: as

I simply said
Nothing, and left
The room right

Away. So why
Then do I
Feel so angry

About it—a
Disagreement that has,
So far, never

Happened? I want
To believe that
I has all

To do with
Fear, and nothing
To do with

Anger—but I
Know, as anyone
That knows me

In life would
Do, that this
Is not true.
So it seems
I do have

Some things to
Explore and work out.

-08/19/25 by @vampboy1989

23

0

7 months ago

Our Meeting

I close my eyes
And see
You there

In the dress you wore
Two years ago
In September.

You seem
Drawn to me
And I to you

As a brother
And a sister

The magnetic pull
Of familial warmth
Is bent to
By both of us.

With chests
Of flickering firelight
We walk to

Each other
To double
Our warmth.

In the flash
Of this moment
As deeply felt
As it is quick.

We hug:
We fall
Into each other

And finally
We go home.

Eight thousand
Miles bridged

And not a second
Flitted away
Or wasted

Two siblings of the soul
Now and at last
Come to know
Their precious
Peace

-04/08/18 by @vampboy1989

3

0

8 months ago

Matters of Hygiene

Just three days
Shy of three
Months ago now,

I did a
Thing so foolish
And random and

Thoughtless and strange.
I was brushing
My teeth, you

See, and in
My haste to
Complete the task,

As I believe
I had a
Film to watch

At the time,
I purely by
Accident, spread

Eczema cream on
My electric toothbrush,
And not the

Usual toothpaste. So
Rushed did I
Feel to do

What I needed
To do and

Then just leave
The bathroom that
I did not

Take note of
The broader and
Flatter shape of

The eczema cream
Tube; nor did
I stop to

Take stock of
The differences in

The labels and
Lids of either
Distinct amenity—and

Perhaps most foolishly
I did not
Know that I

Had made that
Mistake until three
Minutes into the

Act of brushing
My teeth. What
Gave it away,

That whole bit
Of foolishness, it
Seems to me

Now, three months
Hence, was the
Taste of the

Eczema cream in
My mouth: not
A refreshing, or

Pleasing mint that
I usually quite
Like, but more

An acrid, overripe
Grapefruit, that makes
One wretch to

Think about it.
One good thing
To come from

This small, and
Childish incident, is
That one now

Truly does see
As well as
One humanly may
That one can

Never be too
Slow in attending
To matters of Hygiene.

-01/06/23 by @vampboy1989

2

0

8 months ago

Don’t Even Care

I miss your
Weed smoke and
I miss your areolas
And I even
Miss thinking that
Your life was
Fuller than mine.
I miss hearing of
Your dating life, and
You helping me mull
Through my wretched
Excuse for one.
I miss your hair,
And your saying
To me: long time
No see—that
Happened only once,
But at this rate
I’ll take anything—and
I miss your practicality;
And even your
Black-and-white thinking,
And how it complimented
My rampant over-thinking
I miss your model’s
Face and frame,
Along with your
Incongruous missing tooth.
I miss all
These things, and
Yet, you probably
Don’t even care
That I miss you. by @vampboy1989

3

0

8 months ago

My First Poem for my February, 2026 poetry reading:

A Question for Ttori Johnson

In lieu of
Using the phrase:
I love you,

Can I please
Call you, my
angel instead? This

I asked my
Dear friend Ttori
Yesterday, telling her

That I was
Planning to use
That question in

A poem that
I was due
To write soon.

She said, in
Essence, that she
Found no harm

In the use
Of either phrase,
In referring to

My feelings for
Her. So, though,
I first thought

That for her
Those words were
Too freighted—and

Most certainly so
When used to
Refer to what

Exists between she
And I, it
Turns out that

She has no
Qualms about that
Short phrase, or
Its resident affect
At all. What
Unexpected, and delightful
Gifts four years

Of friendship can give!

-01/08/23 by @vampboy1989

2

0

8 months ago

All Poems recited during my latest poetry reading. Transcript given below:

Of Wishes and Discovery

I wish I
Could remember that
Song I thought

Up for her
In that dream

I had, two
Years ago now
When we were

Still so new
To one another
And, though, I

Say that, we
Are still new
To one another

In many ways
To this day.
I wish also

That I could
See if her
Taste really is

As savory as
It has always
Been, in my

Dreams. As distant
As she is
Now—and as

Trying as that
Can be—I
Know that there

Is still plenty
Of time in
Which to find

Out that truth.
That is something
I wish for

Every single day.
The only thing
That coaxes me

Is the notion
That she and

I still do
Have time to
Discover one another.

-02/21/22

Of the Leech-Like

I hate the
Way that, these
Days, friendships that

We make, especially
By way of
The Electrical Ether,

Seem to evaporate
Just after they
Become really solid.

That is one
Thing that has
Always bothered me

So about such
Amicable arrangements, so
To say. It

Can seem often
As well that
When such alignments

Do take shape
The bonds that
They will initiate

Will tend to
Evaporate, once the
Party that started

The amity gets
Whatever they really
Wanted, and then

Proceeds to leave
That secondary sharer
In the bond

In the lurch,
As it were.
It is quite

As though the
Way in which
May of us

Behave in friendships
These days, in
Many ways, has

A real tinge
Of the leech-like
About it—and

That is truly
A sad thing
For me to

Have to see.

-02/23/22

Impressions of Rosario Dawson

Her hair moving gently on the breeze
Like chimes swaying in the wind

Her eyes backlit with spirit
Adjust their apertures in perfect time
With the motions of her mind

Her breasts ample and high
Tremor and heave
With each deep breathe of her lungs:
With every beat of her full heart

It seems that everything she does
From the slightest motions of her body
To the movements of her soul
Is flecked with liveliness and gratitude:
To all things and for all things. by @vampboy1989

4

0

10 months ago

This is a video recording of my latest poetry recitation for November. Transcripts of all three poems spoken aloud here can be found below.

Poem One:

I’m Standing

I swear I’m
Standing, as long
As I can

Love, I swear.
I swear my
Feet will always

Touch the ground.
I don’t give
A damn for

This chair, as
Long as I
Have love, I

Can stand, and
My feet will
Always touch the

Ground. This chair
Is only aesthetic;

Cosmetic, a quirk
An item of
Kitsch or camp;

A conversation starter
When speaking of
The design of

My talking-partner’s
Shirt becomes too
Bland. It means

Nothing. For, as
Long as I
Have love, from

Anyone at all,
I swear I’m
Standing, and my

Feet will always
Touch the ground.
My eyes will

Always meet with
There’s without them
Ever having to

Bend, as long
I have love

I swear I’m
Standing, and my
Feet will always

Touch the ground.

Poem Two:

Twelve Time Zones

Given the tangle
In my brain
I’m not sure

What to say
Today. Amid all
Those knotted thoughts

The one straightening
Force is her,
Though, it ought

Not be because
Love makes me
Crazy, and who’s

To say that
This is love
Anyway? Though after

Ten years of
No fights and
All kindness, and

Joint bolstering and
True warmth and
Consistency, who could

Say that that
Could ever really
Be a bad

Thing? It is not
At all: It’s
Good. We need

To get together
Not today, not
Tomorrow, not a

Year from now,
But eventually, we
Need to be

In the same
Space at the
Same time. I

Need to cross
The twelve time
Zones that it
Would take to

Get to her
At the other
End of the

Room, and be
With her. She
Wants it too.

She implied it
One night to
Me on the phone. by @vampboy1989

4

2

a year ago

Offering number two from this month's reading. Transcript Below:

The Stuff of Bad Fiction

It’s the stuff
Of bad fiction,
Or at least
A good monologue.

I, a wheelchair-bound,
Pacifist Teetotaler, have,
At the ages

Of ten, thirty,
And thirty-four respectively
Fallen in love with

An Olympian, a soldier,
And a drunk.
You, as they

Used to say,
Can’t write that
Stuff, but you

Can try to
Write about it,
As I am

Now, however feebly.
But, seriously, you
Have to stop

And really delight;
And delectate (until
You drool) on

That irony. It
Reminds one to
Always keep one’s

Eye cast toward
Nuance. It reminds
One to keep one’s

Heart open, and
One’s prejudices light,
And permeable. It

Reminds one that
One cannot help
Whom one loves;

And nor should
One mind at all,
For, in the

End, what else
Is life for?

-09/04/25 by @vampboy1989

4

0

a year ago

My first recited offering from this current month's reading. Transcript Below:

People Are Beginning Now to See

People are beginning
Now to see
That those of

Us with disabilities
Can do more
Than just cause

The widening of
The breadth of
A doorway or

The steepening of
The depth of a
Curb. They are

Beginning to see
That we can
Shape thought. That

Was something that
Occurred to me
Just last night,

As I looked
Up, on Amazon,

That disabled author’s
New book about
Interabled Love, and

Saw the more
Than half a
Dozen memoirs that

Are now published
(And just in
These last few

Years) by other
Disabled authors. That
Is so interesting;

And it leaves
Me feeling quite
Encouraged too;

But it has
Also imparted to
Me one other
Really vital thing:
That I need

To get my
Ass in gear,
As we say

In my crude
And rugged Midwestern
Vernacular, and get

Some of my
Own writings published myself.

-03/12/25 by @vampboy1989

2

0

a year ago

This is the third of three of my latest poetry reading videos. I will surely upload the prior two shortly--and a transcript of this one short piece can be found below:

Twenty-Three

An ideal and tranquil scene:
A bead of sweat
Rolls off her breast
And—clenched to her—I’m equal to it. by @vampboy1989

2

0

a year ago

This is the product of my latest poetry recitation--transcript below:

Morning Telephone Call

Did you ever
In your young
Life hear your

Mother say to
You the words:
Mommy loves you?

I ask my
Mother, in reaction
To the overheard

Words, spoken by
My Grandmother as
She was ending

Her morning telephone
Call to our house:
A daily custom

She has faithfully
Kept since we
Moved from across

The street from
Her home, to
Another house, much

Farther west, here
In Omaha, seventeen
Years ago now.

No, no, no!
My Mother said
After pushing the

Off button, on
The phone, and
Ending the call.

That’s why, whenever
She or anyone
Says such things

To me now,
I always just
Respond by saying:

‘Okay.’ My Mother
Says to me,
At least in
Substance, anyway.

I then remark
To my Mother
That, from what

I can glean,
It has always
Seemed to me

That when she
And her two
Elder brothers were

Younger, they were
More put up
With, rather than

Dealt with sweetly
By their parents
Whom were married

At sixteen, and
Had become expectant
Parents, no more

Than just a
Year after that
Time. To this

My Mother, herself
A teen parent
As well, replied:

Yeah, it was different.

-09/07/22 by @vampboy1989

5

4

a year ago