In No Particular Order

football and porn
he says
not in any particular order
he says.
it occurred to me
i never saw him smile.
seems he had no reason to lie.
perhaps the closer
one gets to their truth
the less compulsion they have
to deceive the hearer.

he talked easily about 
two young girls he pays
for sex.
he leaves hundred dollar tips
to bar maids that are
nice to him.
i remind him
that all bar maids are nice
to any fool with money.
but it's not "nice" 
he's trolling for.
it's their flesh.

tonight he's in a particularly
chatty mood.
outside the rain pounded
like hammers on coffin nails.
i want the rain to flood the world again
just like in Bible days
he says.
i want it to rise all the way
to my 23rd floor apartment
he says
so i can open my window 
and kick the baby bodies
as they bob by
he says.
i look at him
but he just stares down.

gotta go
he says.
the girls are coming by
and i don't wanna be late
he says.

will they die in your flood?
i ask.
i don't give a damn
he says 
as long as they do their job first.

it occurred to me 
that he never looks me in the eyes
either.