Angeline

he had been without her 
in the empty hotel bed for 
two nights, two sweating 

quiet blacknesses, without 
shuffling or snores, or jittery
leg kicking; now all he wanted 

was for the moon to leave him  
alone and the neon outside in 
the street to bury itself in the 

deathly still of the tree lined 
park, where the rats and weasels
and crazy cats foraged in their

merry hunt for things left over, 
while the night, that trickster of 
the seasons, rested in his eyes: 

when he had first visited the city, 
with its girls and bars and hot, 
humid evenings he was full:

now he heard only the sounds of 
angry crickets, drowning amid 
the craters of the dying wounded

as he stumbled drunk past the 
bed, the bath and the TV; would 
this last patrol always be here?
Copyright © | Year Posted 2016

Poem

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Fleming Avatar
May 16, 2016 at 1:35 AM
I love this sort of writing: atmospheric, graphic, slightly foreboding...In the raw, and laid bare for all to see. You have the ability to strip away all the veneer and present just the bare bones. And that my friend is called...Poetry! Superbly crafted, Pete. My very best regards, as always of course, and warmest wishes! :) john. P.s An obvious seven plus!
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