White smoke rose from her nostrils
Her arm, covered with red spots
Her hair, the outcrops of earth
Her image- haggard

Red and black she went
Into inns and clubhouses
Playing with cold cash
Stuffing it into her trousers

She threw the cigarette ****
Onto the ground
And squished it
With the heel of her stiletto

Red pair of dry lips
Tired eyes in their sockets
Her voice tried to call out
To the man in the car

He halted and smiled
She took his arm
They exchanged grins
She went into the backseat

A few hours later
She lay still on the bed
The pillow wet with tears
Her clothes on the floor

The man was asleep
So she scurried out of the hellhole
She found her way home
Grandma sat on the rocking chair

She dropped the money
On the old woman’s lap
Then she went inside the room
Where a babe waited

She cradled her baby in her arms
She stared at the calendar
Hanging on the wall
December 25th.