Tuesday poem #448 : Trevor Wilkes : My Third Beer

 

 

 

friend made a joke
about behaviour east

of Yonge Street
man displaying his manhood 

shorts around his thighs
young woman walked into

bus stop headfirst
phone in hand while 

it momentarily rained shards
of glass all over salt stained

boots on her feet
there’s a man down the 

street from my apartment
he wears a Russian fur cap

with Tupperware full of change and
a book with a bent cover 

I want to ask his name
I’m afraid he’ll ask me for

some change I have no
problem giving money to communists 

I don’t have the heart to tell him I don’t
have any change either

a woman came into my work
asking for “akky” berry mix 

I didn’t give a shit to correct her
(ignorance is bliss)

we all can’t be health
conscious and intelligent 

my third beer predicts
canker sore on the inside of my lip

that makes me feel like a degraded leech
on the side of the road 

 

 

Trevor Wilkes is an emerging poet living in Toronto, Ontario, and is currently studying English (honours) at Ryerson University. In addition to poetry, Trevor writes literature and poetry reviews for his university's literary journal White Wall Review. In 2018, he self-published a small collection of poems entitled Waiting Room. He is currently working on his upcoming second collection of poetry.

the Tuesday poem is curated by rob mclennan