The efficiency room days were
the worst and the best.
Broke and bent,
sick and deranged.
Disheveled dreams, like
horses with broken legs.
There was an occasional
miracle.
A forgotten five-dollar
bill crumpled in the
front pocket of some *****
jeans, lying by the fake
plant and a copy of Hamsun's
Hunger, long overdue from
the library.
The fiver would buy a
pint of cheap *****
My nerves settled for a
moment.
Friends seem to drift
away by the month.
"Where's Johnny?"
"He froze down at the Raccoon River."
"Oh **** he was always good for a snort."
"Have you seen Sue lately?"
"The cirrhosis finally took her."
"Son of a ***** I used to get drunk and
tell her I loved her, while she gave me head."
Poverty and death drank with us in
those cheap rooms,
Singing sad songs and songs
of victory.
Battles were won and lost
and great debates waged in our
addled minds.
We took care of each other the best
we knew how.
Life was just a myth.
Aug 6, 2025
Aug 6, 2025 at 12:42 PM UTC
The efficiency room days were
the worst and the best.
Broke and bent,
sick and deranged.
Disheveled dreams, like
horses with broken legs.
There was an occasional
miracle.
A forgotten five-dollar
bill crumpled in the
front pocket of some *****
jeans, lying by the fake
plant and a copy of Hamsun's
Hunger, long overdue from
the library.
The fiver would buy a
pint of cheap *****
My nerves settled for a
moment.
Friends seem to drift
away by the month.
"Where's Johnny?"
"He froze down at the Raccoon River."
"Oh **** he was always good for a snort."
"Have you seen Sue lately?"
"The cirrhosis finally took her."
"Son of a ***** I used to get drunk and
tell her I loved her, while she gave me head."
Poverty and death drank with us in
those cheap rooms,
Singing sad songs and songs
of victory.
Battles were won and lost
and great debates waged in our
addled minds.
We took care of each other the best
we knew how.
Life was just a myth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Noa4ztEUFDA
Hi everyone. Here is a link to my YouTube channel where I read poetry from my books, Sleep Always Calls, Seedy Town Blues Collected Poems, and It's Just a Hop, Skip, and a Jump to the Madhouse. They are all available on Amazon.
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