Bartender

the greatest non
relaationship - relationship
we will ever know a lover
a fighter a soothysayer
a friend who will be there for
the entirety of their 9-5 or 5-2
shift regardless of their
other obligations so long as their
card is punched. and our tip is good.

Bartender

i love the way they bring
my sauce with a certain
poise and elegance that
few others can deliver with
as if it is their job to
continually tease me with what
is so readily available and
deny me what is so much theirs.

Dive Bars

every time im drinking in dees at an
odd hour i see an
odd woman who
always wears sunglasses
not the kind you can get away with wearing
in a dark dank bar
typically
dark ass sunglasses with
a mirrored tint
and i always wonder what her story is
which is why i always wander into dive bars
because every face is a story
theyre all a bunch of well written characters in
a poorly written novel about my life

and she always glances at me
briefly

and i dont see her so much as myself staring
and i realize thats about it as
she turns back to her beer
and returns to her conversation with
noone in particular about
absolutely nothing.

world travels

i am getting
sick of these narrow minded
pittsburgh non traveling yinzers
without
an excuse for not traveling
get on it, i say
westward bound ticket,
all destinations west
would be grand like
the sexy irish girl i talked to
tonight
but then again who the
fuck am i to judge
you're probably happier in your
home than i am in my world travels.

Turquoise Panties

I pulled a pair of striped turquoise panties out of
the just finished commercial
in the crowded laundromat

Definitely not mine and I
had no recollection of pulling them
off a girl or seeing them on
my floor so I discreetly
threw them in the dryer with
my soiled, torn drawers.

I'm not claiming to be a player but
enough so those could have multiple
owners a
veritible choose your own adventure
of asses to cover

and despite the comfort which
some girls run around you
still don't want to ask them
"are these panties yours?"

The Laundromat (2)

Snuck outisde for
a quick freezing smoke
propped between a steamed up
window and a brick pillar

Flipped my book open as I flicked an
ash
and started thinking about how
cool smoking is
a solitary endeavor of slow muted self-destruction
also enjoyed in groups.
I took a drag and was blown
away by how cool my reflection
looked on the pillar from
a yellow streetlight, propped
awkardly in an architectural
fuck up.
two puffs went down two cars drove
by and a sudden self-conscious
jolt shot through me grounding reality
smoking doesn't make you cool.

The Laundromat

A humid oasis on a 12 degree day
I struggle through the door
and catch the eye of a 20 something
as her nose came out of her book
she flashed a quick smile which
I bounced back across
the checkerboard laundromat
chessboard floor

I wanted to small talk
chit chat "whatcha reading?"
I thought as my eyes crossed my
red roasting hands
stuffing the sheets my ex
had bought us into another
Commercial Washer
just a few thousand spins
from washing our relationship
away