WHORE
WHORE
by David Gawlik
—–
we are sitting
on the edge of the bed
DAMN IT! she spits,
taking off her boots,
I’VE GOT A HOLE
IN MY STOCKING!
SHIT, I laugh,
sprawling out across the mattress,
THAT’S NOTHING,
I’VE GOT HOLES IN
ALMOST EVERYTHING I OWN
IT’S EMBARASSING, she sighs,
blowing a lock of hair
from her nose
to the side of her head
LISTEN, I say,
I’VE GOT A HOLE FOR EVERY
NIGHT I SANG LOVE SONGS TO
AN AUDIENCE OF EMPTY BOTTLES
I’VE GOT A HOLE FOR EVERY
TIME I MISSED AN OIL CHANGE
OR A TUNE-UP
I’VE GOT A HOLE FOR EVERY
GOOD WOMAN THAT LEFT TOO SOON
& EVERY BAD WOMAN
I LET STAY TOO LONG
WHICH AM I? she asks,
pressing her nails into my thigh
WE’LL SEE,
I say,
wiggling a toenail
out of my sock
it needs clipping
Haha! I’m laughing my ass off at this! i love the story–excellent flow, structure, …and i appreciated the all-caps. Typically the all-caps renders a very tense moment where yelling is involved. But here i think it’s for emphasis of importance and high emotions. The middle part of this piece was my favorite:
“LISTEN, I say,
I’VE GOT A HOLE FOR EVERY
NIGHT I SANG LOVE SONGS TO
AN AUDIENCE OF EMPTY BOTTLES
I’VE GOT A HOLE FOR EVERY
TIME I MISSED AN OIL CHANGE
OR A TUNE-UP
I’VE GOT A HOLE FOR EVERY
GOOD WOMAN THAT LEFT TOO SOON
& EVERY BAD WOMAN
I LET STAY TOO LONG”
It’s the catharsis of epiphany! Simplistic yet well-thought out and laced with hard-knocks experience. Amazing how something so prolific can emanate from a thing so seemingly trite as a hole in a stocking. Then life continues on: “WE’LL SEE, I say, wiggling a toenail out of my sock”.
thx for sharing!
I bow deeply to the high praise…Thank you
Though based in truth, I conjured up a bit of the dialogue
for this…it was really a mild observation of how big things and little things alike can destroy a person…
But I’m not trying to tell you what to take away from your reading…thanks again for the praise, but like I said before…
I really don’t know what I’m doing
The Author
(and yes, I probably did submit my real name instead of pen name – WHOOPS)