Charles Bukowski: The Cockroach Piper Poem by Martin Lochner

affection they had for
the nicotine stained master

coming every evening

through the cracks
of bad plumbing
behind the geezer
out of the toaster

they assembled under
the window sill
trampling each other
for the best seats on
the black oak floor

yea the stage was set
in that Chinatown motel room
a flickering 24 hour light
creating the ambience

screeching excitedly for the
daily reading to come

Charles woke up and was
eloquent in bourbon stupor
performing his midnight urge

telling his scavenger audience
how Vietnam raged
and hippies engaged

it was 1968 and the world
in his dead beat mood was
a scruffy mess

climbing in a bed and getting
most out of his 25 dollars lay
he became the piper

every appreciative cockroach
following him between the
covers …..