The Breakup
I thought Winter had left me,
with her cold-hearted ways,
cutting me to the bone.
I was happy to see her go.
now the snow is falling
and the windows are rattling.
Looks like the bitch is back.
ch2024
The Breakup
I thought Winter had left me,
with her cold-hearted ways,
cutting me to the bone.
I was happy to see her go.
now the snow is falling
and the windows are rattling.
Looks like the bitch is back.
ch2024
Red’s Leather and Velvet Bar
It was the kind of bar,
that makes you happy
to give it all your money.
A classic 1950’s speakeasy
architecture, long seductive bar
with a back lit display
of rare and expensive booze.
The waitresses wore more ink
than tight mini-skirts
and the skirts were tight.
Tight enough to show
they had nothing to hide,
especially the one who climbs
the ladder to the top shelf.
I fell easily under its spell,
and ordered a Communist.
A gin martini with a cherry
and hammer and sickle,
made out of hot sauce,
Background Character
Lost in my morning coffee,
I watch the hipsters
dominate the street.
I feel like I’m just a character
in the background
a nameless face in the crowd
A place filler in a masterpiece.
I’m sitting at a table,
working on my first novel.
The gendarmes are patrolling the streets.
I’m worried that they will chase me away.
Move the vagrant along..
If the artist had given me a chance,
I could have been someone.
Instead I’m just a character
in the background on someones canvas.
Big
Box Store
Visit a big box store and see America.
There’s
too much skin and too few teeth,
More Ink than a copy
machine.
Spandex stretched
beyond its normal limits
Four
kids in a shopping cart
at least one diaper is overflowing.
An
associate is directing people
to the wrong Aisles out of
spite.
People are lined up
for lottery tickets
and
buying smokes in bulk.
Tweaking for nicotine
and chasing
the lottery dream,
before the social security runs out.
There's
an Alzheimer's victim
in the toy section, looking for her
dolly.
Her husband is in the beer aisle,
looking for an
escape.
A couple assholes are harassing
the gay computer
tech
in the electronics section,
while the high school
prom queen
shoplifts a pregnancy test.
Out in the parking
lot there's a dog
slowly dying from the heat,
in a locked
car.
Some guy in a flag-waving pickup truck
is doing laps,
Playing Lee Greenwood's
“I'm Proud to be an American, “and
muttering
about all the dark-skinned people moving into town.
A couple families have been car camping
for the last
three weeks
because they can’t rent a place to live.
This
is America in a box
Chris Hoagland 2023
The Hidden worlds
Living the life