my wife
sometimes tells me
about the men
calling out to her
on the way to work
the construction guys
mexican landscapers
in beat-up trucks
the stone hauling gent
at the masonry store
they’re all derelicts, she tells me
nice guys
lonely guys trying to get a smile
out of me
you have nothing to worry about
she says
easy for her to say
i know all about lonely, nice guys
maybe i just get agitated
because i haven’t been hit on
by a woman since 1997
apathy does strange things to the ego
but last week it finally happened
as my wife and i
walked up market street
in san diego
we passed two ancient
homeless women
digging for their dinner
through tourist trash
one of the women
looked up from her can
and said to the other
now, there goes a good looking man
i was the only guy on the street
i just looked at my wife and smiled
vindicated
acknowledged by the world at large
even
knowing that i couldn’t pay
for that kind of action
back on the east coast.
John Grochalski lives in Brooklyn, New York.
