Charles Bukowski
Shot of Red-Eye
I used to hold my social security card
Up in the air
He told me
But I was so small
They couldn't see it
All those big
Guys around
You mean the place with the
Big green screen?
I asked
Yeah. well, anyhow, I finally got on
The other day
Picking tomatoes, and Jesus Christ
I couldn't get anywhere
It was too hot, too hot
And I couldn't get anything in my sack
So I layed under the truck
In the shade and drank
Wine. I didn't make a
Dime
Have a drink, I said
Sure, he said
2 big women came in and
I mean BIG
And they sat next to
Us
Shot of red-eye, one of them
Said to the bartender
Likewise, said the other
They pulled their dresses up
Around their hips and
Swung their legs
Um, umm. I think I'm going mad, I told
My friend from the tomato fields
Jesus, he said, Jesus and Mary, I can't
Believe what I see
It's all
There, I said
You a fighter? the one next to me
Asked
No, I said
What happened to your
Face?
Automobile accident on the San Berdo
Freeway. some drunk jumped the divider. I was
The drunk
How old are you, daddy?
Old enough to slice the melon, I said
Tapping my cigar ashes into my beer to give me
Strength
Can you buy a melon? she asked
Have you ever been chased across the Mojave and
Raped?
No, she said
I pulled out my last 20 and with an old man's
Virile abandon ordered
4 drinks
Both girls smiled and pulled their dresses
Higher, if possible
Who's your friend? they asked
This is Lord Chesterfield, I told
Them
Pleased to meetcha, they
Said
Hello, bitches, he answered
We walked through the 3rd. street tunnel
To a green hotel, the girls had a
Key
There was one bed and we all got
In. I don't know who got
Who
The next morning my friend and I
Were down at the Farm Labor Market
On San Pedro Street
Holding up and waving our social
Security cards
They couldn't see
His
I was the last one on the truck out. a big woman stood
Up against me. she smelled like
Port wine
Honey, she asked, whatever happened to your
Face?
Fair grounds. a dancing bear who
Didn't
Bullshit, she said
Maybe so, I said, but get your hand out
From around my
Balls, everybody's looking
When we got to the
Fields the sun was
Really up
And the world
Looked
Terrible