The Three Lonely Faces Poem by RIC BASTASA

the rain
in trickles has arrived
at the right time

jibing with the three
lonely faces of women
arriving
in one car from a
distant city

in a few minutes
the entertainment shall
begin

breakfast is served
at the back of the house
just behind
the dirty kitchen
where a native
chicken is
roasted

i am sleepy
with my dirty clothes
on
my pants smell like
a dead rat

i am the usual
insomniac
coping up with
early morning's demands
and these
visitors too
i must
cater

and these lonely ladies
noticing my discomfort
or inconvenience
this tipsy posture

i think
do not mind at all

for they know me
and i know them well too
for quite
a long, long time

tonight
we will drink hard liquor
and talk about
the miseries of other
people

& then
we will be merry
we will be happier together
as we start
all over again
backbiting the moon
quite far
from where we are
falling
drunk, wishing
for something much worse
than death....