WHERE DO YOU WANT TO EAT? BY Dan Flore III

she took me to some Mexican joint

upscale

people wearing clothing

I can’t afford

I was exhausted 

felt like I was crisped 

on the edge of the sun

sun burnt

burnt out

I just want to go somewhere where 

I can blend in

and nobody knows I’m there

even myself

I said

when the waitress came over

she had tattoos 

on her leg

that could wake up the town

I ordered three tacos 

I could eat one

I went out to smoke 

it was a good respite

it was night by now

and I was getting cooled off

when a group of drunks 

started yelling

and the panic started

there was no way I could go back in

that restaurant

I sat on the bench 

looking like a clown with a poor disposition 

can you finish your pina colda and get me the hell outta here

I texted her

she came out 

and saw me crying

you poor thing what happened? 

I said the night bit me 

I just wanna go home 

which is where she took me 

and in a hurry

Dan Flore III’s work has appeared in over a hundred different publications. His latest book that’s available is JUMBO POETRY (Crying Heart Press)