Last Night

Men seldom make passes
At girls who wear glasses.

Dorothy Parker

he sits at the end of the bar
drinking whiskey
a woman smiles and asks
if he has a dollar for the jukebox
he ignores her
he periodically glances behind him
at two girls sitting in a booth
they are about twenty - five years old
and very pretty he thinks
they come to the bar together
every couple of weeks
old friends
he smiles
pays up walks outside
stands on a street corner
looks at a tall ugly building
past that to the sky and clouds
no stars
it’s windy
he waits
five minutes
the girls walk out of the bar
giggle for a few seconds
and say good-bye
one of the girls walks toward him
she sees him
slows her pace
he watches
smells her fear
it smells sweet
like sweat
she walks past him
sighs looks back
she starts running
runs into him
he smiles
please let me go
he laughs
if i wanted to do that i wouldn’t have stopped you
he rubs a knife across his pants
now would i