asexual stevedore

for jenni baker




i saw an old mexican totting a cigar
his belly a mild bulge from beer and salsa con queso

construction workers building boats in locks
in skullies and sullen brows in Essex

ignore Carmen's dance, the floral tease
who pleasures herself then cries to sleep on the weekends

their interconnected miserable desires missed out
to the bear learning tricks for the circus