laying low at a Bukowski hotel 

 

 

they call them drifters 

to hide reality from 

an indifferent world. 

to keep post-Covid 

tourist dollars 

flowing in. 

 

they sleep in doorways 

behind trash dumpsters 

in alleys, in bushes, 

behind bookstores and 

law firms,  

deep in cracks that rippled 

across long concrete sidewalks. 

 

i lay low in a Bukowski hotel, 

no heat, no maid service, 

toilet down the hall. 

hookers, on the front step,  

wait for taxicab cop cars to meander away 

before singing out 

 

hey baby! you want a date? 

 

  

Jack Henry

 

 

jack henry is a writer based in the deserts of SE California.  Recent success includes: Ariel Chart, Pure Slush, Raven Cage, Better than Starbuck's and elsewhere. in 2021 PUNK HOSTAGE PRESS released, driving w/crazy, available now at smile.amazon.com.