5:30 am

saturday morning

shouting

under our window


two guys holding

another guy's arms and feet

stretching him out

while a stocky brute


with a silver pipe

(maybe an aluminum baseball bat)

while some of their

girlfriends are screaming and trying


to defuse the situation

my partner calls the cops and reports the incident

look out the window again

the assailants fleeing down opposite


ends of the street

while the victim stands up

from between parked cars

bottom naked and holding his pants


we look out the window later

and see our neighbor talking to the cops

(so we weren't the only ones who called in)

and in this aftermath


my sweetie and I go back to bed weary

but slightly wired

while she tossed hungry

and I lay inspecting the ceiling


and thinking of Auden's great Musee des Beaux Arts....




(accent over first 'e' of course)











Content (c) 2008-2015 Philip Milito.