At the Portola Aftershow, 10 pm to 3:30 am

by Matt Hose

zy behind the decks

DJ Koze cozy behind the decks

DJ Koze cozy behind the decks

DJ Koze co

Short king in an actual crown, plastic and glowed up, jacked to

the teeth, shirtless, shirt in fact tucked into shorts pocket, with a

camelback, camel strut through the dancefloor desert, an

underbite, facial hair all thin and connected, pharaoh, king of

the oonts.

until Here comes the PTSD Squad

Iraq on the breath

the one in the few the proud the 

marine letterman sniffing,

followed by the men 

with the caved faces 

with the tommy wiseau hair 

with the unblinking eyes,
footsoldiers of the night’s apocalypse,
backpacks somehow made threatening,
looking to topple a throne.

Oh you wanna see a fight now

you, yeah you
you want to see   the blood 

at the   breakdown   of language
split   infinitives   cleaving   lips

busted

Who the

fuck

do you think you're 

looking at

curdled 

the man was toppling at the bar at 2:30
n i asked for help
cuz Uber said there was a promo 

n my ride home would cost $0
n i didn't know in what way they were fucking me over
n i asked new friend if he thought 

i’d be getting a credit card in the mail
n he pointed to himself 

n there he was
over my phone screen 

wearing overalls and a clown shirt
n he said “do i look like a person you should be 

asking anything”

n he was so drunk and sloppy and beautiful
n i laughed and touched him and said 

yes you look exactly like that person

The 3:30 Uber driver 

who is so tired he is 

drifting into oncoming traffic and I
a shrooming child in the backseat 

eating snacks and drinking bottle water

but I tell him about Tens therapy 

for his aching back

and he says he’ll actually try it.

There’s no wall because 

we don’t even need to talk,
and I remember that sometimes

maybe I can add something to the world

and there isn't just 3 am subtraction.

backseat cozy salty snacks and water keeps the mouth wet.