Oberc
YOU
Got to wake him up
the bartender tells me
and get him out the door
i don't want to call the cops
but i will if you don't wake him up
it's another night
in lexington ky
drinking with two friends
the one passed out
is getting a divorce
the one still drinking
is supposed to get married
next week
and both of them
have been drinking
since 1 this afternoon
and i don't know why
i feel good
in this arena
why i shake my friend awake
and tell him it's not so bad
i don't know why
i keep telling my other friend
it's good he's getting married
that it'll make him settle down
i don't know why
i'd trade places
with either one of them
if it'd get me out of here....
EVEN
Though she is half my size
weighing 105 to my 225
she is often twice as strong
pushing me out of the way
when moving in an opposite
direction
her voice grows twice as loud
when she disagrees
scaring the neighbors
down the hall
and her temper rips
through the sky like lightening
exploding boulders
collapsing buildings
taking up more than half
of the bed
stealing all the covers
leaving me ice cold
and shaking
in the middle
of the night....
EVERYTIME
She goes home on vacation
i look forward to the space
to the emptiness of the apartment
to the sound of the music
i want to hear
i look forward to the pillows
that i can call my own
holding them like a dozen lovers
who want to get close to me at night
i look forward to the sound
of my own footsteps
on the floor
to the sound of my neighbors
as they make love
or argue
depending on their mood tonight
and suddenly i catch myself
glancing at the bathroom
to see if she is there
brushing her long hair
as she watches herself in the mirror
i start looking for her
in the bedroom
to tell her something
i forgot to say
when i got home from work
i start to realize
how much of her
fills up all this space
and i call her up
4000 miles away
just to hear her voice
just to know that she's ok....
oberc
© 1996
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