You
met her half-past midnight
At
the Greyhound station
Your
only son buried
In
some forgotten corner,
Hers
cradled in her arms
Diaper
bag upon one shoulder.
Her
face a mask of bruises-
Too
young for such a burden
Baby
fast-asleep
Her
belly held another,
"This
seat taken, dog?"
You
grunt, indifferent.
Seated,
staring straight ahead
She
tells you of her boyfriend,
He
had the right car,
He
had the right drugs,
It
was all one big party-
'Til
he hit their kid.
You
turn away to shut her out-
Just one more tattooed little blonde,
Over-pierced
and cheap-
Her
child born out of wedlock;
One
of countless nobodies
With
another on the way…
Oblivious,
blondie chatters on
Passing
busses roar and hiss
She
waited until asshole
Left
to score a cap,
Took
their baby and ran-
(Now
she's going home.)
Is
this what you traded
All
your friends and son for-
These
three nothing lives???
You
bite down hard
Upon
your tongue-
Trying
not to laugh,
She
touches your shoulder,
"Dude,
bad trip-
Getcha
somethin'?"
Tasting
blood
You
shake your head
Why
won't she go away?
Heavily
she rises,
"Ain't
got much money,
But
wanna split a joe?"
The
baby wakes
As
she waddles off
"Joe's
good for that."
For
such as this
You
took evil on,
Playing
by its rules-
Sacrificing
everything
So
the likes of her
Can
piss away their lives?
"Like,
hey, dude,"
She
returns, smiling,
"You
get first dibs."
While
passing you
A
flimsy paper cup,
Cheap
coffee from a machine.
Numb,
you take it from her,
She
shares another
Split-lipped
smile,
"Dunno
what's down, dude,
Anyway,
keep going,
It'll
get better!"
Without
meaning to,
You
finally meet her eyes,
The
ghost of another girl,
Dust
in the rain,
A
boy-child left behind-
The
battle isn't over yet.
You
hand her back
The
half-drained cup
And
your watch and wallet,
Before
you kiss her and her babies
Unborn
and otherwise
To
walk back into the night.