Something To Ponder

interlude


it's been raining forever
and I haven't had a drink in
a week-and-a-half.
I must be going crazy.
I just sit in these green pajamas
smoke cigars and stare at the walls.
I try to read the newspapers but
the print blurs and I can't
make sense out of any of
it.
I watch the second hand
go around and around on my
watch.
I am waiting for the ghosts
of tomorrow.
I look at the telephone and
thank it for not
ringing.
my life has been lived
in vain;
I should have been a
shortstop, a race car driver,
a matador.
I sit in this room, I wait in this
room.
I rub my left hand over my
face.
my whiskers are sharp,
they feel good.
I think tomorrow I'll get
dressed, go outside,
I'll go to Thrifty's,
buy a roll of Scotch tape,
a bag of orange slices,
a flashlight and a
pocket comb.
then I'll snap out of it,
maybe.

- Charles Bukowski