Ballad of Henry Chinanski

Bacchic poet laureate
Drunken bard and ladies man
Oh, how this troubled troubadour
Of the dregs and the whores
Spoke to my pubescent agonies
And manhood defiiements of the mind

Rhapsodies and rhymes
Portraits of a man drowining
In his own madness
My neurosis answered
From your kingdom of dimly lit taverns
And desolation morgues

Trash bin philosopher
Scavenging through existential ironies
And empirical monuments to the ill-fated human condition
Sing to me life's hells and hallelujahs
Of its wayward women dreaming  of pearls
And misbegotten saints searching  for redemption
Of its darkest nights
And brightest morning after
Of its mishapped tragedies
Laced with weeping and laughter

Boxcar hobo wanderer
Down liquor-slicked highways
Toting only your bottle and quill
Nights wallowing in puke and perfume
And waking up in an empty room

Manifold life without regrets
Myriad loves and losses
Pearls of wisdom amids harvests of dragons
The bottle stands dry and alone
The quill laid down and silent
The taverns fall into a reverent hush
To a lone traveling star.