glamour & gutter

he spat in the mud
bleeding teeth
broken glass
too much of too little and all that

tear drained eyes
staring down the gutter
sounds of frozen kindness
in shiny red shoes
tapping and rapping
on the plaster

he shuddered
took heart
and shook off disaster
nose-up he joined in line
and paralleled steps
with the lady from glamourama
perfect skin
sweating out champagne
splendid looks
and a mind so sane

"The rage, the madness, and the pain
how sad to numb a broken nose in the snow
if you could just sit in the glow
with wrapped-up glamour to go"
he thought
and shuddered

too little in too much and all that
and back he was
scarring his life in the gutter
and crying his soul awake again