Unmanageable

A chiseled face with tight lips
He looked at me
Then the carcass across from him
And said

That my nigga - is an unmanagable lifestyle
That my nigga - is a life out of control.

I couldn't really argue.
In protest it seemed
The carcass would raise up
Slap his tongue
And stammer a very primal stammer
Speaking to the reptile in us
His corduroy pants and matching rayon coat
Black and orange and soul glo purple
Posture like a broken gibbon
He was a portrait of disproportion
And imagine the assymetry of it all
Things are just more basic down there
They are all slithering here and there
Eating bugs and shooting and smoking
And zapping and eating bugs
A tiny blackbox
Which is actually red
With wiggly radar lines comin from it
At least in my mind

Another cat with a cane
I thought he was a lizard
Until he spoke up
And said solemnly
But as part of a well thought out routine
Yea that dope got him
He said
as he scratched his face
Imitating his junkie mannerisms

Meanwhile, the carcass twitched and threatened to stir.
He slapped his tongue twice
And nodded off to somewhere
Or nowhere

I spent the rest of my ride wondering
About the dark
Or maybe the bright
Hole that he had slithered away into
We has all slithered into
The discreetness
And the uncontrollable sense of decline
Of the always open subway tunnel.