M.P. Powers

the nobody inn 

it claimed it was a non-smoking unit 
but it reeked of stale smoke and there were 
cigarette burns in the bedding and the refrigerator 
was about a meter from the bed 

and there was a towel in the freezer 
and a toaster and coffee pot were on top 
of the water boiler and there was a hat 
wedged behind the tv and the toilet seat 

was cracked and someone had left infection 
ointment in the vanity and given the number 

of bugs and other hungry organisms 
in the room you got the impression 
the owner of the hotel was a believer 
in the sanctity of life 

he was a little old indian man 
a kind old man with the most elegant hands you’ve
ever seen but when I called him to complain 
the phone just kept ringing 
and ringing so eventually I gave up 

and had a little whisky
and watched bonanza
then lay down 
on top of the mattress and slept
with all my clothes on.

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