while the sirens wait i raise this drink in silence
the hotel was open for business again the next night
no respect for the dead
the drunk and smoke-filled body offered no resistance
when the firemen carried him down
he died giving new meaning to the phrase "dead drunk"
i remember an evening ten years ago
when he drank till his skin turned green
he had that much alcohol in his system
there was no reason to keep the hotel closed
they have boarded up the necessary windows
and the newspaper has said what had to be said
while the sirens wait i raise this drink in silence
Copyright© michael dennis/Pulp Press Book Publishers 1988