The sound
of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
bounced from a skinny radio in the cafeteria.
If you closed your eyes
you could imagine
a cocktail lounge in Las Vegas.
After all,
Vegas was open 24 hours
like the foundry
and manufactured
a conga line of dreams
like we did—
it’s funny:
a guy on midnights
blew his money wad
on gambling and girls
in Vegas,
and when it was over,
came back
with Herb Alpert’s autograph
and went to work
as if nothing happened
to all those paychecks
where his tongue had been.
John Stupp is the author of the 2007 chapbook The Blue Pacific and the 2015 full-length collection Advice from the Bed of a Friend both by Main Street Rag. His new book Pawleys Island will be published in 2017 by Finishing Line Press. He lives near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
A Quiet Courage 