second night in nola
second night in nola i was drinking
my free drink he poured me a second no charge
two girls come in one's her birthday
i ask what she does hairstylist i ask
if she loves it says it's her passion
has box braids black and blonde
little bits of metal jewelry braided in
so artistic they ask me to join
d'mario from upstairs chats me up
on the next bar stool wait for jarn
then uber to bourbon street not
on my dime already dark go in
take shots jarn pays d'mario pays
i never pay this shot suck a lemon wedge
salt shot lemon there you go
we go to an upstairs room hardwood
dance cloor balcony wave to all
the people below dana takes her tits
out the dress and shakes them
over the balcony guy after guy
picks up those colorful plastic beads
metalic lyin like little oil spills
all over the street picks them up
and put it around her neck
floor fills this is real grinding music
start goin against this one guy
drunkenly type my number in his phone
name is calvin "i'll hit you up"
d'mario starts grinding on me
a few girls twerkin in the circle
starts full on thrustin on me
until i fall over half hands on the ground
then we laugh and go next spot has a stage
i go up and dance get cheers get hit on
get spicy shot out of a red syringe
only after says it's ten dollars
i'm to drunk to get out of it
get tired walk down bourbon
dana gets photo tits out with
woman dressed like cat woman
two men walk around with big snakes
draped around their shoulders
charge for a picture with the snake
we stumble through d'mario grabs my ass
it's late we uber back i sit on
his lap back at the hostel i get
us condoms don't want to disturb roommates
hit it behind the building then
in the stairwell then in the bathroom
roommates can probably hear it's okay
he keeps at it for an hour or two
i say i'm tired he leaves it's 4am i take
the hat off my bed and the joints
and the socks and all the beads i had
around my neck and pull the blanket
all the way up over my eyes and fall asleep
—August 2021, New Orleans, LA
