Getting gas in my old hometown
Someone taps my shoulder
And I turn around to see
A familiar smile wrapped in
Wrinkles and silver streaks of hair
My love darling sweet from
1995
We lasted four beautiful months
Promised forevermores
Went weekends without clothes
Made love from sun up to sun down
As young lovers should
Ate
Drank
Laughed
Held hands
‘You’re my man and I’m your woman...’
She was fond of saying
Then it just stopped
We had a beautiful glorious
Summer
Now in front of me a quarter of a century
Later
Time hasn’t been kind to her
And I wonder if she’s saying the same of me
But she leans in to say goodbye
Stars in her eyes
‘It’s good to see you...you look the same’
And gives me one of those squeeze hugs
You get from old lovers you’ve shared
Time with
‘I’ve missed you’
She says
The gas was $17.32 and I’ll never
Go on that side of town
Ever again...

And just like that
Your fire was raging through
Uncontrollably so
Every room in my soul
Searching
Taking
Ravaging
Only to find
A charred heart
That still beats for you...

Just as lovely as I remember...
Erasing a thousand days with it...
Making 46 minutes seem like 2...
This spell you have over me
Will never wilt
Will never know a winter
Will always have a sunrise
Rising from out of an ocean
Your voice
Beautiful woman
Spell over me...

Even when all that is left
Is our sad requisites to each
Other
Even as the earth rotates
Our sad ‘what ifs’ will
Begin to collect dust
Fade with the years
Sand castle
Unfortified
Will crumble into the seas
But before it does
Before time has its inevitable way
Let me take the time to say
I love you...

Was the last time I saw you
Last time I kissed your lips
Felt your warm body
Against mine
Remember how you looked at me
In the window
Like you knew
Women always know
How you took my pieces
And brought them to life
Once more
The last time I was ever loved
Unconditionally

it's a bit cold
I'm sitting by the margin of the river
Fishing
A bit upset
There were too many fish who escaped
my nets

I sigh
throw 'em again

wait

I catch one
pull it out and stomp on its golden head
rip it apart from the body
and drink its blood

...

Yeah, *******
I'm sitting in the office

night shift

supervising casinos through
CCTV cameras

it's 05:53
and I'm ignoring work to write poems
like this one

and something always comes up
and makes me forget my ideas
The phone rings
Some customer causes trouble in some casino
Some other customer is suspected of cheating
A bouncer falls asleep on his
chair due to lack of activity
The game attendant flirts with a customer
There's a bill fallen on the floor and I've to
determine its owner
A bunch of idiots are being too loud
Some other idiot keeps demanding alcohol
but his bets ain't worth ****
and so on
and on
and on

And the goldfish escape through my fingers
and the eyes of my nets are too wide
and that just *****, man
It really does

But I pick myself up
and tell myself what I always tell myself

A writer writes
A writer writes
A writer writes

Just like a fisherman fishes

And you don't stop because the catch
is rickety

You continue because of it