Cattle Cars

i look to my left, elevator covered in fake plastic denim, i stuck my gum under the rail and prepared to head out, taking my hands and rubbing my eyes, it's like stepping into the sun out of a dark movie theater. the doors opened i heard a mad chattering the wind blowing somewhere through the forgotten cracks left in the buildings.
it was people eating people, people climbing over one another and ripping and tearing at each other, it was people laughing and having fun, it was animals; it was animals.
the dots collected and i was left holding the bag. remaining there, alone, watching the moon slide behind buildings and clouds, i exhaled and the smoke blew right into the cocktail waitresses face. she didn't mind it. she actually kinda liked it. i hear you turning over the thought in your head, like a magician turns the card, or the key in the lock and the plant in the pot. the vines grew and made their way up the building into the wind cracks and engulfed the concrete whole, they made their way towards my ankles and i could feel their slimy hands clawing at my shins and shoes, i could feel the firm grasp upon my shoulder and the thought of castrating the fucking plants that were destroying us came on my head like the commandments handed to Moses. the wind blew even harder as the heat lamps rocked back and forth. my coffee was bitter and smelled burnt, it probably sat on the burner even before i took my first sip.
i watched all of you, i could hear you all collectively screaming the same thought: "i'm getting to old for this". you spent your life running, from what you don't know and to where you sure don't know, you've spent your life replacing broken keys when the lock was the problem and you spent your life drinking hot chocolate and dreaming of some guy out of a romance novella, they put that shit in your head and now you don't know which way is sideways. it's all of a stash that you put in your mind.

when the elevator doors opened i saw humans piling out, the stomachs rumbling for a hunger that would never be excavated and a tenor playing somewhere in the back. i heard several, "moooo"s like cows being roped in for the slaughter. i was one of those cattle, i got off the cattle car, but you can't slaughter a cow who knows his place. i burped up my burnt coffee and washed it down with a cigarette,
"waiter, bring me a 7&7, light ice, heavy on the 7"
"which 7 would that be sir?"
i just starred him straight in the eye, he tried to break contact and look around, but i kept my eyes straight on the middle part of his face, and finally he walked away, when my drink was brought to me it was almost all whiskey, good man, i tipped him a dollar in quarters and moved on.
i learned how to use my resources.
when the table ordered drinks, i watched the drinks set on the table, there was always one left that nobody would touch, i drank it, ate the ice, chewed on the glass, and occasionally, poured someone else drink into it. i don't know about you, but i'm not paying $12.

its silent now. the cars have all driven themselves home, the people have all collapsed fully clothed on their beds, and i remain, burping bitter coffee and hearing keys and bells and whistles go off in my head. it's like a factory shutting down after a long day of production, the assembly line slows, the workers clock out, the janitor locks up, and then the lights go out.
tomorrow, we make soap.