Flowers for April

Flowers for April

by denny

Life's tough on the street
for a girl with nowhere to go;
virginity lost at fourteen
to a middle-aged salesman
with sweaty hands
probing under her skirt,
pink bra tossed in a corner.
A bare light bulb hanging
in the center of the room;
Eyes closed, imagining
herself somewhere else, listening
to the noise from the street.
Somewhere a car alarm goes off.
He kissed her on the cheek
dressed and left without a word,
twenty bucks on the night stand
under a bottle of dead flowers.
Outside, walking down the street
past a flashing neon sign
above the bar,
still carrying the bottle
of dead flowers.