RECENT EVENTS

The 3 of us were sat on

a public bench passing
a cheap bottle of
wine
between us;
I
hadn’t seen the
couple for a while;
they had some
place to live
but
they liked to drink

out on the streets;
“What’s been
happening?” I asked;

“Ronnie has been
in the hospital” said
the
woman. “Haven’t

you Ronnie?”
Ronnie nodded his
head, grinning;
“He had
surgery” she
said, “didn’t you
Ronnie?”
Ronnie nodded his

head with a widening

grin, like he was
proud of something.
“What happened?”
I
asked.
“Well”, the woman
said, “we were arguing
and
then he punched
me in the face, didn’t

you Ronnie?”
Ronnie
nodded his
head but he wasn’t
grinning anymore.
“That
was it” the
woman said; “I went
into the kitchen and
got a
small kitchen
knife; my nose was
bleeding, maybe I was
in
shock, but I
stabbed him in the
stomach, twice, didn’t
I
Ronnie?”
Ronnie nodded his
head and took a
slug of wine
and then
passed the bottle to his
wife, who said before

lifting it to
her cracked lips,
“Go on, show him Ronnie,

show him the scars.”
Ronnie lifted his

shirt and I saw 2
raw
and fresh knife
wounds shining like
plastic in the
sunlight; I
nodded my
head and exhaled like
I was impressed;
“After I
stabbed him
I called an ambulance
for him, didn’t I

Ronnie?”
Ronnie nodded his
head and lowered his
shirt
as his wife passed
me the bottle; I took

a deep swallow and

looked at Ronnie and
then he grinned again

as I handed him the

bottle to finish the
final dregs.
Ronnie lowered his head looked down looking at his sutured
wounds, he took a large pull off the
bottle, swallowed, and looked up
grinning at me; “See,” he said caressing his
wounds. “No leaks!” And
then; “God I love her.”

 
AN APRIL DAY AT 5PM

Stumbling, it came across
the
wooden decking; a wasp-like
insect, it’s right wings missing
and every now and then it would
flip over onto its back, it legs
frantically kicking at the

crushing air and suddenly it
righted
itself and then hobbled
forward and then
back-tracked
and then flipped over onto

it’s back and again kicked its legs
furiously and then it lurched
forward and then it
suddenly
stopped moving.
I watched and waited and

the sun was warm and the

neighbors were out and I waited
and
thought of alcohol
and of love and of
survival and
I looked back down at the now

lifeless thing, still and calm and
dreamless and I thought of

my grandchildren and of the shitty
day
that I’d had
but at least it hadn’t
ended up
breathless upon the wooden
decking and at 5pm on another
forgettable day, I feel thankful
that my heart beats, that I

can feel the pushing of an April
breeze
and hear small nature rustling
in its path

and I look down once more at
the dead insect; now a convenience
food for a spider
and soon

I will no longer be alone and soon
I will talk and listen to a

loved one, soon, the death of
this insect
will be forgotten
and the hours will
continue to
make dust of us all and soon
we
shall no longer hold hands or
hear the wind-chimes calling from
our infancy.
And for this
finality, I give the ultimate
Thanks.

 

 

MY FIRST JOB INTERVIEW

Was for a factory laborer;

I was a shy 16 year old

virgin pushing for a job
that required
scooping
jelly-sweets into boxes,
naturally I felt nervous,
I
wanted to make an
impression and
Mrs. Coombs was
stunningly
beautiful
she was in her mid 20’s
and it was June and
it was
hot and the
interview took place
in a hot portal cabin;
I sat
opposite Mrs.
Coombs and could not
take my eyes from off
of her
well shaped
breasts that hung naked
beneath a thin
white blouse
and I thought
of her lucky bastard
husband and I heard
her
talking to me and
then she stopped talking

and I looked up into her

face
“Well Mr. Robinson,” she
said in a sexy voice and
she
was waiting for a
reply; I looked into
her eyes, she had sexy
eyes
and I blushed
a deep red teenager
blush and I lowered
my eyes
and looked at
her breasts again;
speechless;
“And what
could you
offer our company
Mr. Robinson?”
the sexy
voice asked;
“I want to make a
success of things” I

blurted out looking
back into those
sexy eyes, my face
cooling
down and I
don’t remember what
Mrs. Coombs said but
I
started work a few
weeks later and
I never saw her again.