Snake! He yells
And betrayal cuts like a knife, stings like bleach in the eyes of a just-now blind man
Anger flares like the wings of a homemade kite, his ears ring and his heart jumps like rocks once skipped in the Rhineland
Brushing off the worry of an old maid and a headed-home bar man with one terse “I’m fine man”
Thief! He cries
And the streetlamps line the lane innumerably, casting light on snow that would otherwise fall without notice
Alas! it was he who took my father’s timepiece, indubitably, I will not leave without a fight—surely this man is foolish not to know this
Closing in on the braggart and fondling his back pocket, jaw clenched, needing all focus
Hark! Bloody man
And in the streets lies he, petticoat torn like the lion-ravaged skin of a plain-dwelling zebra
Awful way to be, lying down legs open and supine, victim of a savage like his favorite whore Deidre
Dozing on into absent thought—here comes the finale of the life of a bottomfeeder
Shhh! He thinks
And hiding in a dumpster, crouched over French cheese clutching his father’s timepiece
Already regretting the weight he’s come under, half-hoping those street-scoping billies might find him
Ever the last laugher, this chuckle coming at an unwanted hour proves perhaps most untimely