Vermont and P

Redneck fashion drop out
Eyes me from across the club
I sit alone, reading Rilke
She stumbles over to me
Gin and lipstick and sex

“You’re cute!”

“Yeah, thanks.”

My eyes return to the page
But she hovers, click click,
Jaw moving, Big Red
My eyes return to her
As she lights a smoke

“What’s your name?”

“John Galt.”

And back to the page
Still she buzzes around me
A fly obsessed with a rotten peach
Once again, I look up
Her eyes have changed

“You’re weird.”

“I know.”

She plods back to her friend
Defeat visible in fallen shoulders
I just smile across the table
At the girl in white, face aglow
She whispers me these lines