DB Cox- Three Poems

when wolves are silent

just out of range
of a street lamp
under tree branches
that shadow-dance
the empty avenue
drawn here every night
to stare
at the small house
on the corner
her new friend’s
beat-up blue chevy
planted like a conquering
flag in the driveway
every dirty detail
behind those cheap
curtains burned
by time
into his brain
every whiskey-driven scar
fixed in faded walls
every shattered glass
& broken promise
every meaningless minute
spent apologizing
begging mercy
for every wrong thing
feeling strangely numb
he slides a hand
inside his jacket pocket
where it grazes
the cool metal
of a waiting .38
crazy time of night
when wolves
are silent
& the moon cries


the american way

after another night
of stumbling done-in
down metropolis streets
too fucked-up to fly
superman lies
eyes closed
still under the influence
naked in the space
between night & day
conjuring pathetic
x-ray visions
of a spent comic book hero
too tired
to walk through walls
or leap tall buildings
with a single bound
too strung out
to keep it all
from falling down
dead certain
that truth, justice
& the american way
are no longer worth
the never-ending battle
so,
for the sixth time tonight
the frustrated
man of steel
grabs the .38
from the bedside table
puts it to his head
& pulls the trigger


lowdown

let’s go down
to the “cobra club”
jam enough coins
into the jukebox
to play “voodoo child”
until daybreak
drink kentucky deluxe
shoot some 8-ball
deal a little texas hold’em
until i fold’em at the flop
disappear at the turn
or go belly-up on the river
to hell
with playing it
close to the vest
screw all the good advice
i’m gonna gamble
with loaded dice
throw snake eyes at the moon
ride hell-bent
on night’s pale horse
straight down the path of
un-righteousness
into the sweet
neon streets of possibility
& if we can’t find
anyone who wants
to scuffle
we’ll fucking
ruffle each other
like we’ve done
a hundred times before
it’s nights like these
make me drop
to my knees
& pray the sun
won’t come up tomorrow


DB Cox is a blues musician/writer from South Carolina. He is liked, but not well-liked by most of the tenants of The Octagon House Apts. He has been chosen the best blues guitar player on Woodrow Street for the past three years running.