Down the darkening alley

Lives Suck 'Em Off Sally

Her pimp, and a gimp

Called Micky O'Malley

They rent an old shack

By the railroad track

Sally and O'Malley

Have a liking for crack

Her pimp's got the money

Keeps her sweet as honey

When she's hot, Micky's got

A cure for her cunny

She's soft downstairs

So they enter in pairs

And some in the bum

Where there aren't any hairs

Pimp likes to watch

It warms up his crotch

Thanks for the wanks

Then drowns in cheap scotch

Sally got coke

From a prick of a bloke

She fucks for the bucks

Like a pig in a poke

This mess could be you

It could be me too

Sleaze comes with ease

From green to deep blue

Thank god you don't know

Where the dark alleys go

You can guess; but confess

It doesn't half blow...

7-Eleven

just past dusk

I watched them from inside

standing there arguing

over cigarettes

he was a disgusting fuck of a human being

head shaved bald, shining with sweat

a black sleeveless shirt and

black tweeker jeans

and those weird tweeker fingerless black gloves

she was an old Native

skin scorched to leather

eating something sloppy

from inside

next to her drink on top

of the garbage can

I paid for my things and watched them while I waited for my change

he raised his arm up at her

weak fist

and she flinched

the counter girl gave me

an apologetic look

I walked out and unlocked my door

set the bag on the passenger seat

and he did it again

I closed my door and walked up

to the sidewalk

he looked at me and I shook my head

“What the fuck, man?”

he put his hands up

“Hey, it’s cool, brother. Hard ass day.”

she looked at me indifferently

and put another

bite into her mouth

I walked back to my car and heard him talking low

“You fuckin’ bitch. The fuckin’ cigarettes are OURS, you goddamn hear me?”

I started the engine, he raised the arm again

and I shut it off

the counter girl walked out and said something

to them and went back inside

he walked off in a huff

clutching his backpack in his slimy grip

she watched after him and yelled,

“YOU DON’T WANT ME HAVIN’ NOTHIN’!”

she swallowed another bite

bit the straw and drank

trashed the food

threw her bag over her shoulder

grabbed her drink

and walked after him

I restarted the engine and backed out, took a left onto Solano, drove up my street

and thought about living alone

the glory and restlessness of it

all the good and bad

but at my house

the dogs were there

the machine was there

the night was there

and there was something

young about it

I parked in my driveway and killed

the lights.

Each. Period. Breaks. Your. Momentum. Every sentence brings you closer to the end. An hour breaks down into a few moments in the spaces between the words. Our silly little addiction of counting every second, minute, and hour goes away as soon as your eyes roll across each line on the page.

Every.

Line.

Matters.

Every.

Word.

Becomes.

Reality.

For.

Just.

A.

Moment.

If Nietzsche's most

ubiquitous quote

holds any air

at all,

by now, I should be

stronger than the

motherfucking Hulk...

If it can make you stronger

it can kill you

personally, I like

the sentiment

but respectfully disagree

Sunday in the diner

walking in, a homeless guy

hits me and my buddy

up for

one dollar

to get a dollar burger

my buddy waits by the door

and I think about it

the homeless guy mentions

something about showing me

some kind of homeless card

or crazy card he has

and I pull a five-spot from

my wallet

he snatches it:

"Thanks, man. You're badass."

He walks off and I follow

my buddy inside and he looks at

me and smiles

I scratch my protruding gut:

"Tell me something I don't know, motherfucker."

We laugh and get our booth

order and eat while I watch

more homeless out

the window

peppering the outside

full with the scrubbed-clean

after-worship crowd

as they begin to pile in

for breakfast

I think about them

clean like soap

every Sunday

the industry of Christ

if we want to truly

help the homeless

and kill the national

deficit, provide true

and humanely

accessible health care,

and all the etceteras

that follow these,

tax the churches

but I take my thoughts

of these dead horse thoughts

of all this

and watch the sunlight

battle through

a bright grey sky

and the coffee

begins its coursing

while I remember all

the love and hate

and platitudes and

erase them from my

mind at once

and realize that because or

in spite of

everything around me

I am happy

and think back to my favorite

Nietzsche quote:

The Trouble With Happiness

"Now everything I touch turns out to be wonderful. Now I love any fate which comes my way. Who feels like being my fate?"

It hurts

I'm hurting

There's pain in my chest and I can't get enough breath and I'm forgetting how to breathe

My head throbs

My eyes burn

And I can't figure out how

to get my damn fingers to work

Moths are gnawing at the pit of my stomach and making

their way up my throat

and into the light

The light in my eyes

When I'm with you

But there's too much pain

It's overwhelming

I can't think

I'm folding in on myself

Drowning in bittersweet emotions

I'm withering away

And I'm about to sink

Lightning illuminated the vast and violent ocean. Thunder boomed and sent shivers of fear up the ship crew's spines. The vessel rocked back and forth, ravaged by massive, unpredictable waves. The crew had no idea where they were or whether they would make it out of this storm in one piece.

"Davy Jones is hungry for us, but too bad!" shouted the Captain. "We will make it through this storm and to our destination! Maintain your composure!!!"

I acknowledged the Captain's word, then spontaneously broke out in cackling laughter, looking up at the sky and saluting it. Suddenly all the fear, discomfort, and adrenaline I had been feeling was now thrill, ecstasy, release. I felt no fear of death, no fear of losing the ship, the crew, and failing at what we had embarked to accomplish. I felt pure joy in that moment, in this stressful situation, and I expressed that joy with the loudest and most positive cry possible:

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"