Jack Henry		fifteen points without a center 1. i am like a saint on bloodied knee awaiting the church door to open my penance is in the waiting but i am not that holy quite far from reality although i suppose there are circles i qualify for something a rank, perhaps – a level of some renown if i do would someone telegraph me to let me know 2. i am in limbo waiting knees bloodied waiting text message reciprocation waiting trees whipped in mid-winter wind waiting fog filled forests burn down waiting symbols and logical defined in black books waiting pay up and move on 3. i didn’t ask her name you don’t do that it against the rules the ones posted on-line the ones you need a password for pay up, move on she smiles and responds correctly without looking away or blinking i make passage 4. holed up in my office i sit, my adventure near its end like a period on a sentence no comma or semi-colon, just an end a fragrance that dissipates without a breeze to carry it 5. you laughed when i asked for a receipt for tax purposes, you see, at the end of the year this is a write off, of sorts my accountant but this is research i hear sirens but the black outside remains unchanged, and a scent of jasmine lingers 6. the world seems to stop just as the second begins to move from one instance to the next and i hover over Los Angeles watching diamonds move down freeways, sirens blare little children hear laughter and look up to watch planes fly by 7. at the airport we collect our bags cabs stop at the curb a policeman says, move on a child laughs a mother clutches a tiny hand people speak Chinese i answer my cell phone 8. a yellow cab stops at the curb and a brown skinned man pulls bags from an open truck i tip my cap and pay the fare you say hello 9. a man and woman sit naked inside a bedroom snorting methamphetamine through 100 dollar tubes it is almost morning in Sydney, Australia a farmer looks to the sky and sees both sun and moon 10. a prostitute stands on the corner one made famous in movies and forensic science documentaries on the Discovery Channel she is young and pretty asking for dates an old priest pulls up looks to save her soul but falls for her smell and wonders if she can save his 11. two meet met in a bathroom of a black walled club in West Hollywood it’s well past midnight the music is very loud they fumble with belt buckles and zippers i piss in a urinal and listen to murmurs god’s name is invoked several times a nervous man with thin fingers and gray eyes makes an inquiry i realize he is not talking to me 12. once i took a shit in the same bathroom George Michael masturbated in and was arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior i would have done the same but there were too many Japanese tourists and i didn’t have my rosary beads there’s a park in my old neighborhood with a similar bathroom i used to go there to score crank sometimes i would think of George Michael’s back when he was in Wham! i don’t find it ironic that i knew he was gay before he did 13. two nuns walked past my window i watched them pass with muted fascination one seemed to be quite old the other close to my age, and semi attractive i pictured the younger one sucking my cock and doing drugs with me in my squalor apartment after i promised to accept Christ as my personal savior my program came out of commercial on the television and i closed my curtains 14. an old man sits alone in a cell on death row in a prison called San Quentin he was convicted of killing five prostitutes in 1987 during the trial he said god told him to do it that he was a messenger and his acts cleansed the earth of filth i believe him according to history god has asked others to kill more than five and commit unspeakable atrocities i believe them as well when god speaks to me, i choose not to listen for every good thing offered, something bad is bound to appear 15. inspiration comes from different places i find mine in the gutter the old adage is to write what you know so i do