Kenneth Edward Hart

A New Jersey author

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Night Watch

January 7, 2012 by Kenneth Hart

Night Watch

Shadows cross in a holding pattern.

A twisted flagpole chain sounds

an unsteady beating over a doorway.

 

Toilet odor and corridor ammonia-

Repeating footsteps, keys and a flashlight-

 

Laundry piles-

Buckets stuffed with mops and old socks-

Blankets wedged into corners-

Walls with banged in frustration holes-

 

The pantry and the freezer padlocked shut.

Stainless steel utensils

hung like mottos.

Andy beats his meat and smiles in his sleep.

Herbie hides under the covers,

Peeking out when he thinks something else might happen.

 

Ronnie’s got court in the morning

And he already knows what they’re gonna do.

 

Kelvin dreams about a street full of cars

that are all his

and women who fuck their asses off for him all day.

 

Michael grinds aspirin crumbs

into the spot where his tooth was

 

A cough bounces through the dormitory rooms.

 

When Jeffrey wakes up he wants to cry.

He doesn’t know why his Momma let them

put him here after he promised to go to school.

 

Alex says he don’t care if they ever let him go.

“Everybody gets screwed for laughs”

Is what he wrote in the bathroom stall.

 

Shower room echoes and AM chores-

Most guys wear bandanas on their heads.

 

The crazy cook is telling everybody about her problems

And they are laughing about how sore Herbie’s asshole

must be this morning and then Herbie smiles.

That was a mistake.

“You liked it didn’t you?” yells Kelvin

Pointing at Herbie’s smile.

 

Ronnie’s being real quiet and watching.

 

“Michael say he too sick to get up” reports Alex.

Most guys grumble that Michael’s a fake.

 

When everybody starts moving out to the van for school,

Ronnie watches them through the window

And then looks back at his TV cartoons.

Filed Under: Poems

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Recent Posts

  • It’s Only So (Jazz)
  • Maga
  • Lunch Whistles ( Jazz)
  • Humpy Trumpy
  • The Lord Knows

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  • Music by TaylorHart
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  • Reinforcements Audio
  • Short Stories
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  • The Tempo of Experience
  • Time in a Bubble

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