Friday Night At The Burren

Three beers and two cigarettes later
“I just want to be happy” she said
Scraping her lips with bright
Red-orange lipstick
Surveying the scene
Like an accountant
Taking stock
While I ensconced in my cocoon
Watching from miles away
From another dimension
Could see nothing but
A circus gone awry
Hollow men
Eager with acrid fear
Women fidgeting
Wielding bodies
Like traps
Faces like weapons
Peering through
The translucent fibers
Of my soul
Wanting to but
Unable to dismiss
The horror
Of daggers
Gleaming against the softness
Of inner thighs
Hearts clawed
And studded
Unable to block out
The bloodcurdling screams
Of souls bound and gagged
Reaching a frenzied pitch
Beneath
The relentless banter:
Notice ME!
Notice ME!
Notice ME!
Notice ME!