In People in Rooms, Gemma Meek captures a moment of quiet survival, tempting fate, watching the bridge at day’s end, and finding small refuge in Bukowski. A raw, unvarnished glimpse into solitude, longing, and the fragile act of getting through another day.
I tempt fate.
I give it red eyes and sharp teeth
and ways of knowing the things I fear.
I should learn to shut my mouth.
I’m trying my best to survive here,
sitting on this hard wooden chair
with my chin resting on my hand
resting on my arm leaning on my elbow.
I’m doing the best I can here as I sit
looking out at another fading day with
the bridge in the distance seeming to say,
come here, follow me.
Good men and good women still die alone.
I stand and push the chair back,
a pained scraping noise on the floor.
Moving quietly to the other side of the room
I lie down on the bed and pick up Bukowski,
wishing I had money for beer.