trashcan lives

the wind blows hard tonight 

and it’s a cold wind 

and I think about 

the boys on the row. 

I hope some of them have a bottle of 

red. 

it’s when you’re on the row 

that you notice that 

everything 

is owned 

and that there are locks on 

everything. 

this is the way a democracy 

works: 

you get what you can, 

try to keep that 

and add to it 

if possible. 

this is the way a dictatorship 

works too 

only they either enslave or 

destroy their 

derelicts. 

we just forgot ours. 

in either case 

it’s a hard 

cold 

wind.

—charles bukowski