it would be good to get out of here
just go,
pop off,
get away from memories of this and all that,
but staying has its flavor too:
all those babes who thought they were hot numbers
now living in dirty flats
while looking forward to the next episode on some Soap Opera,
and all those guys,
those who really thought they were going to make it,
grinning in the Year Book with their tight-skinned mugs,
now they are cops,
clerk typists,
operators of sandwich stands,
horse grooms, plops in the dust.
it’s good to stay around
to see what happened to all the others-
only when you go to the bathroom,
avoid the mirror
and don’t look at what you flush away.
~ Charles Bukowscki