where butterflies go when it rains

can’t stop eating tonight

at the first stop i was at

they had hard boiled eggs

already peeled

simmering in some solution

in a huge jar

i ate four

while i was walking

i stopped at a deli

and had four hot dogs

with the works

then just a few miles in

i stopped at a cantina

and ate chips and salsa

while drinking beers

now with every corner i turn
my stomach yearns for tacos

i keep thinking about jenny

but after three nights straight

of pressing our bodies together

she sensed my restlessness

and suggested i go out for the night

cool

a jack-in-the-box

i do love their tacos

and this is my adventure

staring down the barrel

of another winter

as october reaches the twelfth

doubt i’ll see much rain

as everyone talks of drought

but i will walk this route

with or without water

the ultra sound shows

we will have a daughter

earlier i re-read

the dark streets of decay

and realized i am so far away

from the sadness of loneliness that lingers

of course the thing on which

to put my finger

is jenny

i haven’t changed

i still don’t believe

anything is arranged

it just is

and one day it isn’t

and the quality of quantum mechanics

qualifies

where butterflies go when it rains

these streets have known my feet

i smoke and bite my fingernails

and sweat to this l.a. heat

i think the tacos tilted the scales

and if you’re still reading my sordid tales

you will know i am all too human

my life does not flow

like a river to the sea

my tides and currents

break against a rocky shore

this is not a revolution

i am just reacting to need

and rarely getting anything right

my novels sucked

my poems have been decent

and the dark streets of decay

was my swan song and masterpiece

saying the squeaky wheel

does not get the grease

and trains run on time

so someone doesn’t get fired

if god is

he is not for hire

but i’ve already covered this

i live in harmonious bliss

because i don’t believe

there is a “why”

and that fairness and justice

are just concepts

fairy tales that try to spread

the butter evenly

high in the sky are just things we find

with telescopes that have different lenses

it just is

and then it isn’t

that’s why i say

the dark streets of decay

the los angeles i portray

is a really good place

to find a taco

but if you’re looking

for any other purpose

amid this decomposition

well, good luck with that

***