he answers the door in a bathrobe and sneakers

smiles at you with a shit-eating grin

his name is Marshall

you come once a week

the room always smells like refried beans

he takes off his bathrobe and points to the bed

you unzip your jeans

he slips it inside you

you think of the garter snake

you found as a kid

his face is cratered

pock-marked and fissured 

he wants to hear things

goo-goo and ga-ga

call me daddy he says

you come once a week

daddy loves baby does baby love daddy

he barks and he grunts

Marshall sounds like a seal

your hands on his throat

you squeeze and you squeeze

and he gasps

he's trying to breathe

you open your eyes and Marshall is smiling

where are they you ask

on the table he says

you pick up a white paper pharmacy bag

Darvocet Percocet

Marshall was in the Persian Gulf War

where’s the Xanax you ask

you give him a shit-eating grin

he puts on his bathrobe

sits in a chair with his legs open wide

it’s too soon he tells you

next time he says how 'bout wearing a dress

there's come on his thigh

the sun's going down

you rattle the pills in their bottle

you think of a dress you wore in first grade

the pills are your daddy

the room always smells like refried beans

you come once a week

and you don't hate your life.