whiskey & trembling. By Rob Plath

she was gone for good 
& i’d sleep until evening 
& wake only to get whiskey
as i drove one evening 
shaky at the wheel
i noticed a spider’s web 
on the passenger side mirror 
a large spider against the window 
it clung there as i drove 
the mesh trembling in the wind 
then i’d stop & get out 
purchase the whiskey 
& hit the streets again 
as my new friend held on
sometimes i’d sit 
parked along the curbside 
& smoke & talk to my friend 
how you doing, bud? 
how’s the fly game? 
the silk wheel glistening
in the streetlamp 
the stoic spider waiting 
this continued for a while 
the bottles  
the cigarettes 
the one-sided talks w/ my pal 
until one night i pulled in 
& noticed most of the web 
had been torn away 
& the spider along w/ it 
& i sat in my little cloud of smoke 
& instead of heading back inside 
i drove to the bar 
occasionally glancing over 
while idling at a light 
at the two loose threads

rob plath is a writer from new york.  he is most known for

his monster collection  A BELLYFUL OF ANARCHY (epic rites press 2009) .  

his newest collection is MY SOUL IS A BROKEN DOWN VALISE (epic rites press 2019). 

you can see more of his work at robplath.com