she got out of a black car this stranger
by Alle Luciano

she got out of a black car this stranger

this old woman came up to me

i was just trying to enjoy my coffee

sixty minutes ticking away but she asked

me if my feet were cold aren’t you cold she said

she told me i had the best

teeth and how hers were real at fifty two

no. no. how old am i? not fifty two

yes fifty two! no. no.

i’m ninety two she smiled

and i’m going to that church

i don’t go to mass i only go

to pray to god i pray

because i’m ninety two and i can walk and

i still have my teeth

and that night all i could wonder was how soon she would die

after all she was ninety two

and i hated myself for even thinking that

but whenever i hate myself i hate myself for

hating myself because i’m right i mean

she was ninety two and

it’s been a while since i cared that much about anyone else but

old woman how could you even care

if my feet were cold

you’re ninety two and all i could think about was when you’d die