
The Books by Patrick J. Hughes
Off the Record with the Author – Latest Updates
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Maybe Dirt, Maybe Him
They said he was doing better.You can tell by the wayhe now answers textsthree days lateinstead of never. By the groceries.By the haircut.By the practiced smilethat fits most roomsif the lighting is kind. They said growth looks good on a man.No one mentionedit grows back through the bonelike roots lifting…
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The Last Night Before Collection Day
I kept a cracked crown on the shelf, polished it like it meant something. I should have noticed the grime beneath the gold paint, the way it flaked when I breathed near it. Your throne of narcissistic lies was always paper. I planted hope in the dark anyway. Thought love…
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The Cold Forge
Some nights, the air hums like a wire under tension,and memory tastes metallic.You light another thought like a match,watch it flare,then drop it before it burns your fingers.Names shift like constellationsyou’ve learned not to chase them.Meaning is a slow current,dragging fragments of what once wasinto something that almost holds.The sea…
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I am what survived
My mind won’t quiet Nothing shuts it down I’m just fine The smile is practiced The wall stays in place I rage inside The pain, the sadness, the loss Who am I now? The lies show a facade The silence feels protective But listen— Silence isn’t weakness it’s steel cooling…
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Raise Hell
Do not mourn me, don’t bury me under folded flags and empty words. Keep your bugles, keep your polished boots. That’s for show. We lived in the dust, the rust, the smoke. Remember the bullshit, the endless waiting, the orders that made no sense. Remember how we laughed anyway— too…
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You Said You Didn’t Know Me
You said you didn’t know me,like I had slipped away,like some imposter moved inwhile you weren’t looking. But the truth is,you never knew me.You saw what I let you see—a mask, a surface,a man who kept the rest buried. I’ll own that.I didn’t even know myself back then.I was fighting…




