print version published in Zen Baby
the University of California
would pay me to finish
my novel there
but not for another week
& it was still hot in Texas
& I knew Scotty
& Scotty drank
& in Texas you can't say
goodbye to a drinker without
tying
one on with him:
Scotty & I hit
his favorite bar
no doubt because
I planned to leave town
we met interested women
beer in us took
Scotty to their
place while for some
reason necessary for
the group's fun
I drove Scotty's car (carefully) to his
house
double-parked
found myself unable
to unlock his front door &
therefore broke in
through a window
I was seeking
something I
no longer remembered
& not finding it when
I heard brakes screech
a crash & the squeal
of tires: another car had
pummeled Scotty's &
left
I cussed in Scotty's living room
turned off its light as
a squad car arrived but
the cop still
knocked
on Scotty's door
to avoid
charges of d.u.i. &
breaking & entering
& retracted
freedom to end that novel
I hid in Scotty's
bathtub
the knocks
stopped I fell
asleep hoping
this was the kind
of ordeal
drunks are happy
to understand
& now I want to thank
Scotty it was
