Cocytus

Geometricising space facilitates movement:
lines cover the tarmac,

the Orpheum's terrazzo entrance breaks
the sidewalk's monotony,

pedestrian dress, short shorts,
red leather pumps, shiny black patent leather,
cheap vinyl platforms for leaning into

wheeled traffic,
tedium,

for leaning back into
crime, counterpoise.

* * *

Not the object of desire,
but its setting:

Million Dollar, Bijoux, Regal,
box, balcony, mezzanine.

Movement demands repetition:
window, crib, doorway,

hot sheet hotel, one-hour fleabag,
hot tubs by the hour - the water's filtered,
not flushed -

maybe the freeway's benign, a river
wending all of us naked, and toward home,

a green-lined route through
neighborhoods, past

Cockatoo Inn, Snooty Fox, Mustang Motel,

what you have to do
to do what you're paid to do.