Home » Poems » David Welch » The One Who Had Potential, Part Iii

The One Who Had Potential, Part Iii

III.
It was a strange and ersatz family,
but for now no better could he achieve,
and those first few weeks would be no cakewalk,
a real struggle to see to all their needs.

The house was paid off, at least they had that,
but neither of them had regular work,
and Miles had dropped the drugs cold-turkey,
the withdrawal drove the young-man berserk.

He had come cash left from his drug-dealing,
but he knew that it wouldn’t last that long,
he went on interviews holding back the shakes,
inside of him everything just felt wrong.

Martina actually found some work first,
dancing three nights as a gentleman’s club,
a baby-step up from selling herself,
but Miles knew it would not be enough.

And on top of this, old friends came ’round,
shady figures he had known in the hood,
he chased them off, had to burn those bridges,
there presence here would do Whitney no good.

He was finally hired to work the phones
by a firm that did telemarketing,
the work was awful, and he hated it,
but he knew he was doing the right thing.

There was also his sister, quite traumatized,
they’d stay up with her when she cried a night,
eventually got her to go back to school,
made sure she did her homework and ate right.

At first it was okay, she was still young,
they could focus on seeing her needs met,
but living life straight can wear a man out,
most nights Miles just collapsed in the bed.

He had to touched Martina since the move,
before their sex had been a form of trade,
for three months she just tried to help Whitney,
until she came to his bedroom one day.

Whitney had gone out to play with some friends,
the two of them were inside, all alone.
Martina walked in wearing just a t-shirt,
for a while they made each other moan.

Afterward Miles gazed down at her face,
said,”I don’t want it to be like it once was.
You don’t need to give me sex for lodging—”
she shut it,”Miles, that was not the cause.

“I am here because I want to thank you,
and to reward you for what you have done,
but doing right by your sister doesn’t
mean that you’re not allowed to have some fun.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be the kind
who could become a good girlfriend or wife,
I am ashamed of much, but not of this,
you deserve to have some good things in life.”

From then on it was just understood
that Martina would sleep wrapped in his arms,
things finally started to seem normal,
a month later he was hired to sell cars.

CONTINUES IN PART IV.

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