I am Spitballing and a Huckster by Mark James Andrews

I am riding shotgun playing 

second fiddle in a season in hell.

There once was love lost and lust

for any man, woman or beast.

I am far gone into Rimbaud madness

having a heart to heart with Satan.

I am gallivanting all over town

arm around the hip of a Tristessa girl.

There once was druggie romance

that put a spell on you in the streets 

of Cholula with hushed promises 

to never tell about that winter week.

I am hamster-wheel spinning

rat racing in factotum days.

There once was nights blotto

malt liquor and Tuinal capsules

half reddish orange

half turquoise blue.

I am swaggering for no reason 

down and out in Paris and London.

There once was a day spent 

with tramps in the workhouse 

sporting as half diamond dog

flexing as half man.

I am tapping out near the end 

deep diving in the Book of Job.

There once was a man in the land

of Uz and you might say born under

a bad sign but still the final word

was always supreme with Yahweh.

I am spitballing and a huckster 

with my final play to trick the dust.

There once was gamble and chance 

carp fishing on Xanax in a lava lake

I am done with being nickel and dimed

with rope burns still fresh and hook baited.

Mark James Andrews lives and writes in Metro Detroit. He is the author of five chapbooks. The latest is At The Ice Cow Queen On Mack from Alien Buddha Press. His poetry has appeared in Chiron Review, Nerve Cowboy, Hiram Poetry Review, Slipstream, Respect: The Poetry of Detroit Music and many other spots.