AND IN THIS CORNER!

       
       
       
summer  
nights   
       
the type of nights  
when the gods  
laugh the      
most      
       
walking downtown        
       
looking at cracks      
in the sidewalks        
       
the ghost of old      
buildings remembered      
now long gone      
       
found myself in      
the more reprobate        
part of town        
       
noticed a good crowd      
outside the Sportsman        
bar      
       
found an empty spot      
to stand      
       
two guys were swinging        
away at each other        
       
not even looking where    
and if their punches     
had landed    
   
there was no science        
to their fighting        
       
both wildly out of control    
believing the number of    
punches thrown would    
equal victory    
   
some of the crowd      
cheered      
       
some of the crowd      
jeered      
       
other stood there      
blank and dumb      
       
after 7-8 minutes        
their punches slowed      
down      
       
after 10 minutes the      
punching stopped        
altogether        
       
exhaustion had set      
in and little damage      
had been done      
       
both combatants        
slumped to the        
dirty concrete,      
then went on        
their way      
       
the crowd dispersed        
       
returning to their      
private loves,      
private hates,      
private hells      
       
leaving me to stand      
there alone 
     
which is how I      
usually spend        
my nights      
       
I turned around      
and walked on      
to see if I could    
find my own    
private    
hell