by Jack Henry

i drove my father’s pickup truck
to Hollywood and parked
on a side street just off of
Sunset

a friend of mine played
in a punk rock band
and said i should come
to the show at Gazarri’s that night

it’s ten o’clock or better
before they take
the stage
and drive a crowd
of twenty-six into
a pitched frenzy
of booze and pill
inspired insanity

i met a girl with
a foreign name
and took her into
the bathroom
for a blowjob
but each stall
was occupied by
nervous junkies
or grunting
homosexuals
lost in their ass-fucking
abandon

she needed my cash
just as much as i
needed her mouth
she took my twenty
pushed me into a corner
and blew me with
balanced aggression

a few came in and watched
more junkies
more queer middle aged men
more punk rockers
looking to piss

she spit my cum in
a sink, accepted another
20-dollar lover and
disappeared into a stall

i took a piss, laughed
and just went back to the show