SWEATY HALLWAYS OF THE LONE STAR

The hallways of
My apartment complex
In Austin
Are soaked in water
All from a
Recent storm

Rain
Lighting
Winds
Thunder
The whole Texas
Enchilada

Tenants with wet
Shoes brining it in
And open windows
Within these pathways
To all the units
That let the downpours
In

The following days
Were hot and humid
Like Texas summer
In November
And
The hallways became
Like
Swamps

Instead of mopping
The complex
They simply emailed
Everyone
And said it would dry
Itself

Hope no one slipped

How’s that for an
Review?
Accompanied by
A single star
Management is
Always asking
So
Here is your lone
Star review

Bugs, broken items
Left abandon, and
Rude employees
Along with the halls

Although
The view is great
(Hence
The one star)

 

A SNIPER AT APPLEBEE’S

For Mia Bauer

With a title like that
From a poet in America
You’d expect the worst
But with a poem by me
You’re getting something
Else

A former sniper
(Army)
Drunk and horny
Experienced and
A party animal
From El Paso for
A birthday in Austin
At Applebee’s

Of course
He wondered over
To our table
Telling war stories
And movies based
On his old job
(He knows the guys
Getting films made
About them)
Current life status
And the good times
On this Saturday
Night at ten

The sniper continued
On dancing elsewhere
Flirted with every
Woman
And swallowed down
The escape with
Witnesses

No embarrassment
No shame
Thanks for your service

 

RUMORS

Up where my
Mom’s side of
The family lives
In Minnesota
Near St Cloud
There are basic
Necessities
And many miles
In between each one
Of them

Things close early
It’s quiet, boring, and
Drives me insane
Although
There are plenty of
Bars

Full of mundane
Locals just
Gossiping
Drinking
Killing the pain
Of simply existing
And
Who knows what else
They get into out of
Boredom

Drugs?
Crimes?
Suicide?
Scratch-offs?

What are folks
Doing up there?
Jesus Christ!
Just move! Run!

There is even a bar
Called Rumors
Up there

I rest my case

---

Cole Bauer is a poet, screenwriter, and author who was born in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. He was raised in San Diego, California and now lives in Austin, Texas, which birthed a collection about the new city’s first impressions from Secret History Books (Still Waters Over Old California). He has also lived in Los Angeles, Houston, and Seattle where he worked retail and warehouse jobs while writing out the nightmares on the side through poems, a novel, a novella, short stories, and scripts (TV, movie, and comics).