Yes, that word can be used there, but is it of need
Read the sentence first without, and then determine no or indeed

It is a determiner, with “those” meaning more than one
You should not toss it in, just for good measure or for fun

Some use it as a relative pronoun, don’t worry, that’s okay
But when used differently, readers might chagrin and sense dismay

That word sometimes complements an adjective or noun
And when you do this, we’re impressed, as your writing allays and astounds

Allow me to ask, is it used courageously as a subject, that…

Yes, I pushed her and shouldn’t have. That was wrong. But I’ve never done it before with her or any other person. She just knows how to push my buttons. She’s not the loving, fun woman I married. She’s serious all the time, and mean sometimes. She talks down to me. She doesn’t respect me anymore. She’s changed. Like I said, that was wrong for me to hit — ah, push — her. But I wouldn’t have if she didn’t act the way she does.

Hey, didn’t you say a few weeks ago that you slapped and kicked her too?

…

LOST: wife, children, employment, respect, dignity, purpose.
This will be on my gravestone — I’ve already commissioned it.
Maybe I should put it in the lost and found section of the newspaper.
Lost, but not found…
Maybe it’s a good story idea for a mediocre writer.

How apropos, a brightly lit, warm and welcoming structure
A simile of my home and family, not even a year past
Or possibly symbolic of my life then

Adjacent, a rowboat with blood-red lining
Sitting peacefully, calmly, yet reminiscent of darker times
Past and present
Destination unknown, but darker still

Go to the light…

A confused, confusable, and confusing dad, husband, and son. A good professional, a better amateur. Writing weird fiction, poems, observations, and reflections.

Born an only child; raised with my imaginary siblings by a single, caring, and spoiling mother; supported by odd but loving grandparents; complicatedly loved and abandoned by my now deceased father, a strange combination I know. He fancied himself a writer and generally clever. What’s that saying about apples and trees?

Growing up, I loved watching sports, playing board games, whiffle ball, and other sporting-related activities with friends, music, and television… it was the 70s.

An awkward, shy…

The sea here is typically calm, shuffling blue water, absent white
The gentle waves kiss the sand like a soft breeze kisses our cheeks
The rocks barely disrupt the ocean’s flow, peaceful greetings
The sky bluer than the sea, befriended only by the softest of clouds

But, alas, this is not an accustomed day, Mother Nature has a temper
The water attacks the shore like a hunter’s bullet shreds the prey
Foamy destructive whiteness overwhelms the water’s blue
The rocks slice through waves with an inept surgeon’s imprecision
The sky, acidic orange merged with blood red
Planning to swallow and mash everything below…

Raised poor. No
More than poor
What more than poor… poverty-stricken
It sounds like an affliction

Mother died during childbirth
Maybe Don thinks he killed her
As he gazes upon the urn

Father a dishonest and
Emotionally void alcoholic
A horse-kick to the head, dead
A shock, no doubt, to witness
This violent end

Stepmother, a prostitute
Raised in a whore house
How could the family legacy be
Anything but destitute

A younger brother too, Don his hero
Devastated when rejected
Suicide his desperate final non-solution
Pain dilution

Traumatized in war
Stolen identity to escape life’s despair
At the time, seemed only…

The Shortform Times

Studies and Polls Strongly Conclude That Extremism Doesn’t Work and Isn’t Wanted

And a vast majority of Americans are finally pushing back

Over the past 12 months, research has clearly demonstrated that extremism in politics and other important areas of our life is ineffective and, in fact, destructive. Americans have heard the message and are now finally pushing back on those who would divide us. Polls overwhelmingly indicate we are exhausted by the pointless, closed channel thinking of the past and committed to clear-thinking, rational, independent, and inclusive approaches to solving the problems we collectively face. No longer will extremism, intimidation, or cancel culture win the day.

This is unfortunately a fictional…

This poem is not about poems
It is also not about poetry
It is not even a poem
It is instead, poetry

It is about thee
And the me

POM is all about poetry
And this is a poem
But not poetry

Your memory is faulty
I never said that, that
This is a poem
Or poetry
It is not

Let’s examine the facts, shall we
This is a poem, yes poetry
POM only publishes
Poetry, so clearly
It is not a poem

Maybe you should see someone
A professional, perhaps, it’s
Profoundly confusing
Your odd confusion
About this poem

…