10:19 PM

one more
repose
before the night is
closed
mental starvation
typing for
salvation
as the last beer is
almost drained
i am
scratching against
a useless ashtray
and waiting for the sun to come

i hear the purr
as my cats
creep along empty hallways
and
she speaks to me
this
midnight maiden
of shallow intent

i know that the time
of our bonded calamity
is coming to a close
one more beer
one more cigarette
one more
passionate kiss

if words mean anything
they signal
the march of
a structured retirement
resting  and
waiting to kill
this final
fatal
poem