OLD BOY # 2

OLD BOY # 2
I stood in that doorway
for five hours at a time
watching the pretty girls walk by
watching the drunks stumble past
breathing in the smoke
of the smokers
as they stood around and laughed
every now and then
a cockroach would fall from the roof
land on my shoulder
and crawl up my neck
keep going
I’d say to myself
just keep on going
as hard as you can
put your shoulder
to this great, big writing thing
find time outside the benders
or during the hangovers
find the time no matter where it is
to write down the words
poems and stories
find time to submit the stories
to try and sell the books
keep going
I’d say to myself
over and over again
just keep on going
young man
because some day
you’ll be an old boy
and all this bullshit will be behind you
but don’t get too carried away with anything
not the whiskey or the women
or with trying to figure it all out
and don’t get carried away with yourself
because wherever you end up
in the end
the cockroaches will be your only company
before the maggots eat you up