Burn the Set List

When the Red Bull kicked in,
joined forces with the Ritalin
The weight of the Fentanyl
riding a tidal wave of alcohol

The ache in your back teeth
As we played slugbug in the back seat
We laughed so hard, then forgot
what were we laughing at
and laughed harder

The line snaking out the door
and around the block, we took nips
from tin cans brimming
with fermented rainwater,
spit out the gnats and screamed
through the opening acts

And the yelp and bark
and thump and drone
as we stomped and kicked
and shivered beneath the strobes
With pockets stuffed with Sharpies
Trying to drill ourselves back
into the concrete from which we'd sprung

The scratch of phosphor, flares hissing
on the wet macadam
You sucked in the static of matches
and snorted sparks 
and everything that wasn't scorched
melted and mangled was left brushed
with this gorgeous patina

Driving back
with your head in my lap
All the streetlights blurring into one
making them easier to count

And now it's just the extension cord
snaking like a black river
through a landscape of cigarette butts
and ripped tickets
The exit light's still glowing above the door;
get your skinny ass over here, my love,
and hold the chair steady
while I tape this piece of cardboard over it