two in the morning
bars closed down
200 block of Ellis and Eddy
In the heart of the Tenderloin

I stagger past two drag queens
as slowed down cars cruise by
sad-eyed drivers ogling
these would-be women
with cocks taped back
to hide their secret
as bar patrons head for
all night Chinese cafe’s
or Asian masseuse parlors
to make love to dragon ladies
with cash-register eyes

one old man stands alone
on the corner
next to an abandoned building
eyes riveted to the pavement
looking like a pallbearer back
from a funeral