I thought it was going to be a boring place
until I laid my eyes on Trisha
Found her laying her eyes back onto mine
Not to be deterred by the fact she was
the lover of our hostess--
I asked her out
for huevos rancheros
I was impressed with her Spanish and
the food was so cheap
I overtipped the waitress
out of guilt and courtesy--
Out of guilt and courtesy I should not have told her
how she made my stomach hotter than the chilies
But I am not that guilty
or polite
When she asked me what I'd like
to do next I
swallowed both her dark brown eyes
and said quite evenly,
Buy a bottle of wine and go to bed with you.
When she fell across the table
I apologized.
Outside
the hot El Paso sun
beat the letters sprayed upon the wall:
Where is the money for food? Her auburn hair
The fire pleading with my stomach
What do you want to do next?
Kiss me please
We stopped for wine
I lounged across the bed
Meaning to incite her
Citing her lover
And an unspoken contract
She was gone
The hot El Paso sun
trailing auburn
Where is the money for food?
I drank
the wine.
