last library patron of the day
fifty-two
and two decades
yelling at kids and crazies
and the last one here tonight
he’s high on coke
or whatever he was doing
locked up in the bathroom for an hour
flinging books across the room
like the world’s most violent critic
i just stand there
and let him ride it out
until it’s done and he storms off
a big pile of literature
that’s fit to burn
on another evening
where the best that you can do
is lock the door behind him
sit at your desk
wait for death or retirement
whichever one
comes first.
John Grochalski is the author of five poetry collections, three novels, and the novella Wolves of Berlin Play Amateur Night at the Flute and Fiddle Pub (Alien Buddha Press 2024). He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
