Poems from the Toaster

"The final measure of progress is not the absence of pain, but the willingness to acknowledge it, seek help, and continue the work."

From Indianapolis author, songwriter, and principal architect of the Toaster Universe David Kitzmiller comes the deeply candid and darkly comic third volume of his contemporary poetry series.

Unlike earlier volumes that revolved around romantic love and its aftermath, Poems from the Toaster: Volume III removes the distraction of the absent lover from the center of the frame. What remains is the author himself, turning the gaze completely inward to confront the ghosts of his past without anyone else to blame, pursue, or mourn.

Occupying the raw, unsettling middle ground between recognizing what is broken inside and figuring out how to live with it, this collection strips away the rigid constraints of traditional print. Presented in Kitzmiller's signature visual format mimicking immediate, shareable social media posts, each poem delivers an unfiltered look at a mind wrestling with its own reflection in real time.

Inside this striking volume, you will explore:

• The Territory of Self: Moving past relationship drama to confront the deeper, isolated landscapes of childhood trauma, persistent anger, and inherited pain.
• The Exhaustion of Limbo: Capturing the uneven reality of being caught between destructive old habits and unfamiliar new paths, where insight coexists with heavy setbacks.
• Irreverent Survival: Utilizing sharp dark humor, domestic absurdities, and profane wit as psychological armor to look directly at anguish without letting it consume you.
• A Multi-Dimensional Archive: Featuring select poems engineered in tandem with the companion album series, Songs from the Toaster, bridging the gap between written verse and recorded sound.