in recognition of an old classmate

downtown and a cold drizzle

was amusing itself on the sidewalk.

a good afternoon for a haircut.

maybe a pair of new shoes.

I could use some boxers and sox, too.

my credit card’s paid up to date.

my credit is good for a thousand bucks.

I could buy mink boxers with that kind of loot.

then from across the street I spotted

Richard Carrier.

Miss Sikes blamed me for something

Carrier did to the toilet walls;

a masterful drawing of an erect penis

and hanging there a scrotum with little

black hairs attached.

the caption read: “eat me raw”.

that’s poetry for Richard Carrier.

but it’s banishment to the cloakroom for me.

it’s dark in there.

I could smell the cloth of the coats.

some smelled like backyard dirt.

some smelled like the dampness of a wet dog.

I recognized Norene Sousa’s coat.

I lifted a sleeve and got a whiff of her world.

a world I could never get to.

fuckin’ Carrier.