Sunday, October 2, 2016

the language of los angeles


her eyes were the color of faded jeans

i saw an old pair

torn but not fashionably so

 

she looked like an artist

had discovered true art

by dipping fingers in paint

and flicking them at a canvas

 

she asked if i knew roger waters’

“the pros and cons of hitchhiking”

 

“intimately” i answered

 

“i never want to be that woman”

 

“can i buy you a drink?”

 

she nodded

but before we went in

she wanted to share a cigarette

 

outside some reside of alcohol

i passed her my flask

while she passed me the smoke

 

“what were you listening to

when you walked up on me?”

she breathed

 

“watching me fall by the cure”

i decreed

 

she waited for the cigarette

to leave my lips

before she stood on her tiptoes

and gave me a kiss

 

“i am japanese”

 

inside she imbibed on sake

while i felt the explosion

of an irish car bomb

 

when she caught my eyes

caressing her face

her tongue penetrated my mouth

 

tongue dance romance after a glance

may not have a chance

but what is eternity

compared to that moment

 

drinks complete our feet

found the smoking spot

i lit two cigarettes in my mouth

handed her one

 

“what’s your name?”

 

“you couldn’t pronounce it”

she advised

 

should i have told her i know some

japanese because i’ve been

cussed out by quite a few

while i was leaving?

 

“try me”

 

she took the pen

protruding from my back pocket

wrote her name on my palm

 

the letters AIKA

but what i said

was the translation

“love song”

 

it took a second long

before her tongue

was back in my mouth

my hands moved south

she pressed against me

our need became visible

 

suddenly her lips disengaged

to say

“one more drink?”

 

without so much as a blink

i lead her back into the bar

by the hand

 

bartender obliged

the shot glass i capsized

then asked for a beer

while she sipped her sake

 

realized she was staring at me

i blushed

with a hush her hand

was caressing the back of my neck

 

suddenly the sex becomes secondary

my heart’s never sedentary

when it comes to mining

the prospects of love

 

i think she sensed

all the disarm with charm

was flustered

i couldn’t even muster

a mutter

as she uttered a squeeze

of my hand

and a kiss on my cheek

 

i was defenseless, weak

returned the kiss in kind

trying to purchase some time

tell the game show host

i’d like to buy a vowel

corner man throw in the towel

 

the bartender scowled

as i fumbled for my cigarettes

she intervened

asked for the check

sidewalk soon infected

our feet

 

she didn’t drive either

lived nearby

but i wanted more than to score

managed to form a coherent statement

“you want to walk around for a bit?”

 

with lit cigarettes we headed in a direction

i said,

“you know , i really don’t have any protection”

 

“oh, you weren’t getting any anyway”

 

i laughed

started to feel at ease

realized i’m walking these streets

with someone by my side

passed her my flask and sighed

 

we stopped and restocked my flask

with sake

walked and talked

smoke till we coughed

when suddenly her door appeared

a portal to another world

 

i asked if i could see her again

she cupped my chin

in the silken skin

of her hand

and told me to get my ass inside

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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