herstory

so years ago
baltimore used to be a fucking cool
ass place for local bands.

i was in my 20's and so were they.
i fucking rocked so hard that
some nights i couldn't remember my name.
ok, most.

most nights were show nights
and usually i knew at least one
dude (or chick) in each band
in the line-up.

then around about oh 95ish
shit started falling apart.

kids started dropping off to heroin
while i remained inebriated

i remember seeing guys (and chicks)
from some of my favorite bands
getting skinnier
then they stopped touring
then they stopped playing

i'd watch them come into
the bar for carry out
a ghost of their former selves
and judge the fucking shit out of them
later that night i would drive home
in a blackout.

so to escape the h-train
jenny and i moved to key west.
which is, in the words of my pal turtle,
a story for another day.

the point is that
i don't run into people
from the old days that much.
they're either married,
or dead, or still at the bar.

but tonight i saw a dude
i haven't seen in
a country mile
and all this shit
comes rushing back into my brain
from out of nowhere.

i believe they call it
melancholy