severed , fish on the block
head I sit
ripe as a two year old egg
shelled
bitter as vinegar mixed with jack
Black stirred into a margarita and two shots of
house bourbon a beeker  of *** two
fingers of peepermint schnapps
and a handi-wipe
for a napkin
moderating an argument between this big woman
and a bear of a man  
about the rules of pool
whether  ***** are big small which
both of them dripping ice from their nostrils wild *** eyed
trying to slip off the far edge of the stool and at least go ****
they have me surrounded
one in my left ear big girl in my right
any closer their teeth would take a bite
sneered she does good and he all 6 4 350 lbs of him
reeks of hard work and the drout
I see clouds overhead

clouds everywhere
a lot of spit
little rain

ellipsis

makes you think

.....

I have never felt
the cold chills
of loneliness
until my mind
went blank
at the sight of a seductive
white paper

I have never felt
the cold chills
of loneliness
until my mind
was abandoned by
its muses
leaving cobwebs
but taking away
all sense
of inspiration

I have never felt
the cold chills
of loneliness
until my heartbeats
beat for no one
but for a
life
itself

Nights encroachment is changing the face of town ,
an orange star phasing out ,
the borough is closing down
The elderly are content from front porches
the children called to dinner ,
bicycles , baseball bats and chalk are left
on the ground ,
the sound of buses and semis , the last train
headed south
Artificial light slowly filtering out
She's slowly , methodically , shutting down

my successes came when
I said please and thank you
tipped my hat
looked her straight in the eyes
without blinking and said
you are so interesting
care to get a cup of coffee sometime
just simply sincere
and she would smile
most of the times
then say sure would
coffee would often lead to
a beer later
a goodnight kiss
a late embrace
another date
not innocent
at all ever
we stood our ground just
a little Gentlemanliness
still
in this day and age
can make a man wealthy
healthy
and smile