I

The lady has a shrunk heart,

it is all she has, next to it

she keeps her man’s life

They have reduced themselves

till their lives are two strips

of leather. Around them

the pots hold out

the disappointments,

the sighs of marriage

as if saying see how lightly

we take things, or, now

I’m a little depressed, cheer me

II

When I open my eyes they return,

in their eyes the hard points

diminish with each adjective.

They don’t trust each other

to say anything

With such people I fell in,

felt my own name become an alias.

I was a black star

shining in another place

III

All the ranch-style houses

are gone to bed. The cars

are going where they believe

there’s a place to be got to,

girls sitting close to their drivers.

The town night is swollen,

the town cop sweats in his gun-belt

and the town drunk is wading

and singing through the cat-tails.

I hear him clearly singing out loud

a farce, a comedy.

I want to go home forever