Friday, May 30, 2014

lost souls and back alleys


the back door of the bar leads to a dark alley

the lost souls gather for cigarettes

since such a sin is not allowed in the bar

the only thing missing is a recitation

from edgar allen poe

 

eyes light up temporarily

as lips and lungs take a drag

then the ember end

rockets through the dark

like a shooting star

until it crashes against a leg

the holder cursing

and brushing the fabric of their pants

with the unfiltered hand

 

i pass around my flask

but it never makes it back to me

 

i have been silent for days

the sun was shining but i was gray

telling myself i had quit drinking

even though every evening found

me already drunk

 

i danced the propriety of pretension

trying to make reality another dimension

though i never could quite bring myself

to say, “all things happen for a reason”

 

so in this soon to be summer season

in the heated hearth of los angeles

i returned to walking outside

no longer trying to hide

with the internet worries

of how our galaxy will collide

with another in about

two billion years

 

um, yes, we already know

that is why i am in this back alley

going down slow

little does everyone else here know

i have another flask

nor can they see in this ink

that i am taking it to task

oh why do we ask

any question?

 

tell me if i just change my words

to the right confession

the dictatorship of a petty god

will find favor with me

 

chug, chug, chug

flask or a jug

light my cigarette

with the end of the one i’ve just smoke

and when my flask is empty

 

there are empty stools

and empty shot glasses

waiting for someone who long ago strayed

onto the dark streets of decay

 

***

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