Darryl Salach

showerhead

I was standing in my tub
as I turned the water handle on
first the hot
then mixed in the cold.
On came my showerhead
screaming water pouring into my face.
It felt like a hammer hitting a square peg
it hurt
it really hurt.
The tears that were running like a river
only a short moment ago
have vanished for now
washed away in an endless sewer hole.
The shower curtain is my shroud from staring eyes.
The circus is in town
cotton candy,
balloons that look like angry tigers,
a fat man in a black top hat,
candy apples,
giant kaleidoscopes of colored glass.
Bring in the hungry lions
the spectators roar.
A clown with big red shoes
honking a horn madly
slings an arrow into my heart.
I’m on my knees
water pouring on me
I look up and into my showerhead
the tears are back

The Queen of Rock ‘n Roll

the place was around the corner.

‘turn left at the first set of lights,
you can’t miss it, I’ll meet you there.’
said a co-worker of mine.

it was a hot afternoon in July
and a few cold beers at Marilyn’s Bar
sounded quite fitting indeed.
I arrived at the bar in a very short time,
it was nestled in an industrial park
not far from work and it was
hidden from the street so if you
missed the neon sign which had a picture
of Marilyn Monroe smiling seductively
trying to keep her skirt down, you would
miss it, think the picture
was the popular subway photo with the
breeze of the subway car tickling her thighs,
I recognized the white dress.
I sat there in my car, lit a puff of weed
and reminiscing a short while about Marilyn
and how Joe Dimaggio had to be the luckiest
man alive, waking up to her back then had to
be better than getting a hit in 56 consecutive games.

after a few more puffs, I entered the bar
and found my friend sitting there, in the dark
in front of this 10 x 15 foot stage
which had lights surrounding it and the lights
flashed to the beat of the music
which was being played as loud as thunder
and made conversation nearly impossible..
my friend had ordered the beers and they sat
there on the table waiting for me, I smiled.
the place was nearly empty, only a few
construction guys were sitting at a table
far off to our left.
my friend was trying to talk to me, I could
see his lips moving but the music was crushing
my chest and drowning out his voice.
finally the song ended and he suggested we
sit in ‘perverts row’. I laughed and said
where the hell is that?
he said, ‘it’s right over there in front
of the stage, gives us a better look at the girls.’
the place was a strip club, not very clean
not many paying customers so how good looking
could the dancers really be, I thought.
we picked up our beers and moved to ‘perverts row’
and as we sat down in our seats the in house DJ announced
that the ‘Queen of Rock’n’Roll’ would be taking the stage
in a matter of moments, he claimed she was a former
porn actress turned stage dancer, it made her sound
like she was in some kind of porn therapy, that
stripping was a more honorable profession.

she climbed the stage dressed in black, a leather jacket,
a pair of chaps, she wore a Stetson and dangerous boots.
everything was black except for her porcelain soft skin
and her golden blonde hair, her blue eyes sparkled
even in the darkness. she was quite beautiful.
the construction workers greeted her with long whistles
and cheers of ‘take it off baby’ and the ever so poignant
‘we hear you like a good gang bang’, they were indeed
gentleman in this part of town, my friend and I were
entranced as she prowled the stage to the echo of
Joan Jett singing, ‘I like rock’n’roll..’
her moves were quick and well choreographed, maybe
she had been a gymnast in her youth.
the song ended and not a stitch of her clothing
had come off but not one man was feeling betrayed,
we were more than willing to wait.
the DJ appeared on stage and handed her a microphone
and she announced that she needed a volunteer
from the audience to come up on stage with her
for the next song, the construction workers quickly
screamed, ‘pick me, pick me’. you could hear them snicker
and belch, her eyes quickly left there response
and she looked at my friend and I, her only two
alternative choices and she smiled for the first time.
she looked at me and she wiggled her finger
and spoke into the microphone, ‘get up here, handsome’
the construction workers and my friend stood up
and applauded her selection and with my face red
with embarrassment, I walked into the darkness to the
foot of the stage and the next song started to play.
she told me to lie down on my back on the stage
and as I did there was a loud roar in the darkness,
she got on her knees and bent over me so her face
was only inches away from mine, she smelt like a million
flowers and I smiled. she looked into my eyes and said
only four words to me, ‘don’t fucking touch me!’
the song continued and I didn’t move, not an inch as
she introduced me to each crevice of her being right
there on that stage and when the song ended in
exactly 3 minutes and 42 seconds, she got up
and left me lying there, my cock hard, my body
trembling to the sound of her dangerous boots
as they walked off into the distance.