"Hello Edward.How's tricks?"


"Can't complain Mike.
I see your boy's been courting young Emily,
good for him."


"Yes, he makes me very proud.
Only last night I caught him washing his trunk
in the kitchen sink whilst singing
love songs about her".


"Aw, how sweet.
Her old man's a bit of a ****, though.
I heard he was knocking off a cow from the circus.
Filthy ******* can't keep it in his pants."


"Yes, Billy is a disgrace to all bulls.
Mind you,
with a four foot **** swinging about,
I guess you've  got to do something with it."


"Haha, yea, I guess so.
His missus is so sweet, though, it's not right."


"Barbara's a lovely cow, my childhood sweetheart she was."


"No ****? I didn't know that, Mike.
Ever thought about dropping her a length?"


"Edward, I'm a respectable member of the herd.
Besides, I love my wife.
No, I get satisfaction in life just knowing I have a great family
and a herd of true friends.
I don't need any distractions to ruin it all."


"Yea. I guess, you're right. I might have a bash though,
I ain't filled my boots in weeks."


"Just treat her kind."


"Yea no worries. Laters Mike."


"Yes, bye Edward."

You're cold , worn out and poor-
feel free to knock on my door
it's late sunset--you're hungry
come in and you'll share my dinner-

if in the distant future
and good fortune were to make you prosper
I might be worn out, hungry and poor
would you this moment remember?

Flesh filled visions
brains burnt out
pariah desire disease
punctured heart
shifted gaze
inconsolable disbelief

You alright Bert?

Yea, not too bad,
how's it hanging, Max?

Well I had a rough night,
what with my owners at it like rabbits 'til morning
and the cat ******* in my basket

****,
what a ******

innit,
it's OK though
cos I dropped a **** in her litter tray
'try covering that log up you filthy *****'

nice one,
'ere I had a massive dump myself earlier,
the old girl I live with was well annoyed with me,
of course, I looked at her all remorseful like
and did the head tilt thing

did she fall for it, Bert?

Yea,
***** cow,
she even gave me a treat,
humans eh?
Gullible *****

you got that right Bert

They make their entrance—
She in lipstick red, he in black,
A beacon and a shadow,
All eyes on them,
Where whispers collide
And lower boundaries break.

Jealousy blooms—
A ripened fruit, **** and swollen,
A secret bite beneath his skin,
An angry itch crawling inwards,
She, the *****, the sin, the blame—
A ***** temptation,
An addiction burned into the flesh.

Strangers move among them,
Faces of mirrors reflecting her shame,
Eyes refracting his rage,
Life stretches thin,
An LSD trip spiraling,
Searching for meaning
In symbols of truth
Without faith to anchor
The screaming void.

Why the waiting?
Why the blame?
She—
The failure to society’s equation,
They—
A fleeting beautiful façade,
Polaroid shots and pixelated likes,
A collage of nothing,
Of no regrets,
Of red smears on broken mirrors,
And the scent of smoke lingering
Long after the fire dies.

I woke up with
A sore back, and
stepped in cat
***** when my
feet hit the floor.
I turned on the
radio, and My Favorite
Things was playing,
the John Coltrane
version.
It reminds me of
rainy July nights.

I make some coffee,
And check the book sales.
Hey, I got a couple in
India, and the coffee tastes
right.

I take it as it comes.
Black and true, like
Steinbeck's bones.
Don’t forget about the
goings of mice and men.

When I was young the days seemed longer,
the weeks and months, even a year an eternity,
then the ensuing decades seemed to melt away
like winters snows. Reminding me that life is
a brief and fleeting thing not to be taken for
granted or wasted.