water tower three

hard ass kelley
fell through the open sidewalk grate
the one
in front of the liquor store
the one he knew would be open
because it's monday and
the truck would be idling
sliding cases of seagram's
down the mouth
that was waiting
to devour him too.
he hit the cement floor
just as the A train rumbled below.
he had already called his lawyer,
Abe,
feeling the blackness of the morning
and the emptiness in his pockets.






robert mapplethorpe