without a doubt, this scummy bar should be closed / burned
without prejudice
condemned as the investigation to this night's crime scene /
of the most unholy sins
my crusade / has taken me into this den
with no choice / the small gathering of the disturbed surround
me
dimly lit bodies ricochet, spreading some disease / buzzing
sideways, viral
too many drug cocktails pulsing under the skin / amidst
subcutaneous tattoos
deep in the back corner / smoky denizens in their own haze
scanning the crowd for the next conquest / the next victim
the third band starts sound check / the bass plucks a single
note over and over,
reverberates through the spine / this temple shakes
a waitress - slash - actress swings the door open / an
airborne beer can hits her ass
red light escapes the green room / the headlining band's
inner sanctum
further, the ninth circle of hell lies / under the merch
table
no light escapes this abyss / dark devils talk further
treachery
the sullen girl, with fat ear plugs / probably signalling
some kind of sexual fetish
at the ready to sell t-shirts, hoodies, cds, and stickers /
but not really
she shakes her plaid miniskirt / over those diabolical
fishnet tights
thigh high boots / fuck-me boots
a heinous gathering of paraphernalia / under the merch table
two grubby duffel bags, with band t-shirts / a fat black
dildo, the smallest bit of cocaine
scraps of a latex condom...not the whole thing / no
protection
sticky dirty lozenge / grimy scum, the floor of 20,000 stale
beers
deft hands flowing in and out, secret exchanges / black
commerce
larger men attend to their desires / access to small evils
the merch table rattles and shakes / its own epileptic dance
the hardcore band, those miscreants / spitting hate over the
audience
a haven for clouded spirits / at last call, spill out
into this puritanical city / leaving a crumpled receipt of
sins
....
....
