IN THESE DESPERATE TIMES
errol miller
Dear Alice a note of optimism and then despair
as I stand among sunbeams dreams of Key Largo
salvation isn't in the cards today divided Sunday
the exact time of our demise too vague to comprehend
outside our door a cunning beast manifests his message
and we adapt ourselves to pout among the backyard roses
if it pleases the landlord we may sell our country place
Alexander the fetus tucked away in back rooms of night
tragic this scene of innocent lambs stoned on sin
once you were a flapper and I loved you
breathing out of flashing neon sad cafes
soon it was dark and cold in the Aircastle
you rose from the bed before I was finished
whispered derelict words that froze like frost
in blue windows shimmering under the moon
on the horizon a car in flames
plunged over the edge of the earth
and I was afraid for us
afraid for us tomorrow
when the young girl in you would move out
and strike up conversations with one-armed men
thundering beside me my heart could not stand
the process of giving my lady away
yet this is the planet of desire
with swollen animals in the living room
I cannot change the direction or duration
for I am bitter and old
fingering the spears in my body
fumbling with my own future
searching the musty walls
of my hometown cave for
some measure of domestic justice
some message from the gods
profound and worthy of thinking over
in the silence that remains.
