by PW Covington
Friday night
7 or so
Washing T-shirts and boxer-briefs
Coin operated
Clink, Clink, Clink
Fat, young, mothers
So Beat and beautiful
they don’t even know it
So blessed, so magic
Universal
They tell their only babies
To
“Leave the man alone”
As they scoot on the floor
Before
The Dr. Pepper machine
I am the only man in this place
And so, I must be danger
I must be
Lethal
I must be
washing the cat pee
from my yellowing
white under-shirts
Then,
Into the dryer
Whoosh, Whoosh, Whoosh
I’m sorry, young mothers
For defiling this cleaning place
This sacred space
with my dirty laundry
with my searching smile
So, I cross the street
For some Thunderbird wine
And bide my time
Outside
behind
The Laundromat
Glug, Glug, Glug
Removing stains is never easy
I thought I saw
Herbert Huncke’s reflection
Behind the big, silver, clothes dryer
In sheet metal sheen
But,
it was only me
And angelic Beat toddlers
And coin operated redemption
And Thunderbird wine
