Toothless Landry

I heard you gurgle in the parking lot
a life's last breath blown through the open cupboards
where teeth used to be

his royal highness
Mexico's highborn jailbait
young buck with a paperback book tucked in his back pocket
popped you in the mouth hard
and squeezed your neck

you were strangled in the back of a pickup truck
you're gonna lose your job, man
I only knew you for two months
we told each other I love you

you brought a woman to a Silver City hotel room
but she only wanted coke
we're out here in the desert, man
what the fuck are you doing?

born from a bastard bartender
your father is immortal in the coastal parish
he dates them young
your best friend does

I heard you gurgle
your blue face six inches from parking lot pavement
you helped me with my flat tire
we told each other I love you.

TA