At a Party

5/5/11

At a Party

I watched it happen,

Opened the half-closed wooden door

To a stranger’s house,

And hearing the loud music, blasting like bombs in the attic,

Climbed up the awkward stairs,

And walked through the open door,

Smelling the stench of cigarettes gliding in the air

Like an invisible ghost.

I sat in the corner, on the stranger’s bed.

It was the only place to sit

Because even the floor was full

Of beer-reeking teenagers

Dancing their dream of fun,

Kissing another,

Living their dizzy dream of love

For a night.

The window shakes to the sound of the bass

And the floor quakes under the weight of music –

It is like a dream.

Everybody is happy, everybody smiles,

Everybody hugs,

They’re all so happy,

And the ghost of the cigarette

Floats aimlessly about the room.

Not finding my fit there,

I walked back down the stairs

And watched a group of kids crowd

Around a kneeling girl,

Crying her crimson cheeks to black

And vomiting her dinner to the floor,

Swearing at love.

I walked outside, a little disappointed,

And talked to a kid from out of town.

He had shaggy brown hair

And brows, thick and full, like clouds.

He lit his cigarette and I couldn’t help

But watch the red end burn.