in the white noise
of a crowded mall
i study empty faces
spending hard earned wages
on a plastic way of life
in a café i sit pondering
the couple in the corner
do they really love each other
or is their glow
some ruthless show
for losers like myself
hand in hand, laughing
and teasing as they leave
ah, what a charade
bet they stay together
for fear of AIDS or Herpes…
forget the bomb
even sex is lethal
in these crazy ninteen-eighties
walking the silent corridor
echoing footfalls
send a deathly chill
and remind me of a dream…
hooded executioner clopping
to a damp and dirty cell
welcomed without fear
willing to pay the debt
pushing the breaker bar
i step into the darkness
of a vacant parking lot
and sigh
dodging drunks and druggies
i drive the boulevard
past the singles bars
and hollow, hungry eyes
selling flowers
at the traffic lights
churches and courthouses
merge at midnight
floodlights on the buildings
illuminate the stage
forsaken by the actors
who’re sleeping with a secretary
or a naughty neighbor’s wife
sometimes late at night
when i can’t sleep
a purple mist
sifts thru the doorjamb
and turns my radio on…
network of the lonely
calling
do it boy, do it
you know…
nothing really matters
Norfolk, Virginia ‘87
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