Owen Roberts
lives in Toronto, Canada with his wife and three children. He is the author of
Whitey Will Pay (1998),
SourMilk, AggressiveBehavior and My Best Years are Probably Behind Me.
Two collections: Old Enough To Know Better, Young Enough To Do It Again and
AggressiveBehavior2 are to be released in 2005.
2006 or 2009
the doctor practically spelt it out,
crystal clear
either make a change
or live another 2, maybe 5 years
leave children fatherless
and the wife a widow
the wife would move on
maybe catch a bit of action
after the funeral
when we were really in love
she used to always tell me
she would become a nun
if anything ever happened to me
not much mention
of that happening anymore,
"Hey, if I died would you still become a nun?"
"Please! I'd find me a real man!
Someone who could take care of me,
not a selfish, overweight bum."
That's all I needed
I will change my ways
maybe live forever
just to piss her off.
Dales
the most happening spot in Toronto
tonight it's Aliens 2
on the television
last night
it was Gremlins
cigarettes
are twenty five cents each
and draft that tastes like paint thinner
is only a buck 50 a glass
today's specialty is grilled cheese
with french fries
two and a quarter
there's 30 seats
and a third of them are filled by aging to old men
stale smoke and the smell of grease fills the room
women never enter
unless by mistake
or in need of a filthy washroom
when Aliens 2 ends
a Western replaces it
"Oh this is a good one!"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Ohhh, I don't know but I know it's a good one."
Ashley
Colonel, 48
has a new girlfriend
he says she just turned eighteen;
she answers the door in her bra and panties,
"Colonel is the best thing to ever happen to me,
I get the best smoke and I smoke it for free all day!"
Only downside
she's under 20 and hooked on crack,
she has to sleep with Colonel and all his friends,
she has to sleep with strangers for money day and night
and of course Colonel keeps all the money
but other than that,
a pretty good deal.
