we like to stay up late at night
and smoke cigarettes
pretend we're communists and sip coffee from
dirty white mugs
craig likes to surf and play guitar
he leaves his girl at home
they get on just fine
but fight too much about who
drives back
chris lights a joint and
practices psychology
estimates the worth of his
educated soul to within a
percentage point
mark gets the girls
with his long hair and
leather pants; he wishes he
could pay for
just one more drink
we like to stay up late at night and
smoke cigarettes
quote from the communists and pour wine
into silver cups
phil heaves a sigh and pulls
closer to the blanket on the couch
he gets colder now since he
got sick
guy is the last to leave
he helps pack up the food
scratches his name
into the butter dish
to make some kind of mark
and etienne
is never actually here at all
but sends his regards
and the promise of next week
we like to stay up late at night
and smoke cigarettes
and when we say good night
we take deep breaths
of our cool night air.