John-Ward Leighton

23:04 Hrs

something feminine
on the fire in my brain
like careless gasoline
reading how other writers
get to the page
while my silly fingers still
can’t spell
and my thoughts drift
into some special hell
the sound track
is so
1970s
and the red headed woman
is playing with my heart
eating it like
a pop tart

herpes and AIDS
for the road-kill of the sexual revelation
and I wondered why every
woman I ever knew was nuts
and full of “I’m neglected indignation”
it was the years of the sluts
when sex happened
even before you knew their names
and life was a bunch of silly mind games
and the only sanity came
on little pills on blotter notes
and giggling breath held smokes
and life was so much more exciting
out on the edge
standing on the ledge
daring the abyss to take you
to some other destination
and the only evidence
was the soiled bed sheets
and easily forgotten orgasms
so where do we go from here
our time is short
and except for the pain
there is nothing likely
to sustain this bewildered brain
better men are already dead
and there is nothing to be gained
from laying in my bed
you’re so vain
you think its about you
when really the only thing happening
is the one night stand
clouds in my coffee
the stars are behind the clouds
and the haze is mucky artificial light
and nothing seems quite right
and the singer hasn’t got time for the pain

the kettle will soon boil
and I’ll pause from this toil
planning a cup of joe
wondering where this
is gonna go
these musing
seemingly without any destination
or hesitation
or reason for being
a muddle in the puddle
of confusing thoughts
my head itches
and the left side bitches
remembering gravel road
fishtailing in my 55 Chevy
eighty mile an hour
in second gear
on our way to the Chinese graveyard
in an almost forgotten youth
oh and the nights occasional lover
giddy with fear and expectations

too virtuous to go to my apartment
at least that was her explanation
but more than easy
in the back seat on the nagahyde
of the GM endangered engineered animal
cramps in my thighs
because really I was too tall
for those gymnastics
and too damn horny to stop
more funny than sexy
in retrospect
at
23:04 hrs.