The Beating

Living like a villain in some bad
Mickey Spillane novel
The all time loser Mike Hammer busts
And beats down just for fun
        Or out of boredom
Looking for a quick laugh
        Between more important matters

They can shove me around all they want
And take my wine
My laugh will always sing divine
Which turns into a dance through the streets
And plays the fire across my hands
Toasting the moon with the back pocket whiskey
        No one bothers to find anymore

And knowing that volunteer is just another word
For indentured servant
And laughing so hard at the truth
That people ask you if you’re alright

Passing under bridges of gone
And singing the night in felonies
And arrests of the heart
Just to stage an escape
In all memories and by gone thoughts of
What you think you wanted from
Back in the time you knew you wanted it

Living epic without anyone ever knowing it
And calling it annoying and bothersome besides
        Raging and crying and laughing
        Without a safety net
        Other than the ground
        All faster than you think

I take my asides and sing to the concrete, the lights
To nothing and on
I will swing out and laugh
Broken bodied
Wrists shackled freedom
Laughter
        And tears
                    On my shoes