he answers the door in a bathrobe and sneakers
smiles at you with a shit-eating grin
his name is Marshall
you come once a week
the room always smells like refried beans
he takes off his bathrobe and points to the bed
you unzip your jeans
he slips it inside you
you think of the garter snake
you found as a kid
his face is cratered
pock-marked and fissured
he wants to hear things
goo-goo and ga-ga
call me daddy he says
you come once a week
daddy loves baby does baby love daddy
he barks and he grunts
Marshall sounds like a seal
your hands on his throat
you squeeze and you squeeze
and he gasps
he's trying to breathe
you open your eyes and Marshall is smiling
where are they you ask
on the table he says
you pick up a white paper pharmacy bag
Darvocet Percocet
Marshall was in the Persian Gulf War
where’s the Xanax you ask
you give him a shit-eating grin
he puts on his bathrobe
sits in a chair with his legs open wide
it’s too soon he tells you
next time he says how 'bout wearing a dress
there's come on his thigh
the sun's going down
you rattle the pills in their bottle
you think of a dress you wore in first grade
the pills are your daddy
the room always smells like refried beans
you come once a week
and you don't hate your life.