Detroit

by joel abel - Taurus

he woke with red knuckles
bruised down deep so that all his fingers
ached as he fumbled for his ciggerettes.

a cold light diffused by grey rain
filtered thru the single window of his motel,
dimly lighting empty beer bottles and 
an overflowing ashtray.
thru the dimness outside
he could see the billboard across the street.

TRY DETROITS BEST SAUSAGE!

it read, and for some reason
that reminded him of the job
his uncle had offered him.
the reason he was in detroit 
to begin with.

he was at least a week late,
but he wondered if his uncle 
had kept the job open for him.
then he wondered how anyone 
could live where it got this cold.

and then:
how much would it cost to fix his truck?

he found his cowboy hat crushed down
betweent the bed and the wall.
as he was reaching for his jeans-

the bright daylight playing across Little Sand Creek
were laying on the bank, still wet from swimming,
she was looking at him like-

he found his wallet and discovered
he had only 7 dollars left.
he stared at it awhile, then shook his head
at the folly of everything.



Birth sign: Taurus
Date created: 2005-03-10 01:04:31
Last updated: 2021-03-03 14:46:48
Poem ID: 70672

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