Friday Night At Hollywood & Vine
Between the bus stop
And the patrolling cop
There's a stretched line
Of dressed up women
And impressed men
Waiting to pay $20 to listen to loud music
In a strobe-lit cave.
No more than 10 feet away,
The bus stop comes back into view.
Two short, stocky women who have long been called beautiful
Wait for the Red Line
After working double shifts.
The hospital-bright, glass-cased bus
Will be there soon.
Weathered faces look forward to sleep
As 18 year-olds with fake I.D.'s and 34 year-olds with fake sincerity
look forward to sleeping in.
The painfully thin girl in a skin-tight sparkle dress
Walks alone with her arms crossed,
Purse dangling,
Skillfully maneuvering on stilts she saved for Fridays like this.
Maybe someone will think she's pretty.
Maybe she'll find THE guy.
The one who treats her like she's the only girl in the room.
Or maybe she'll just get laid.
Maybe she doesn't care anymore for a dream that's become a fantasy...
...The homeless man with a tattered suitcase of memories
Waits on a bench advertising the sexiness of Vodka.
As the Metro squeaks to an abrupt halt,
The messy-haired, unintentional character stumbles onto the bus.
The driver lets him ride for free-
The only price he can afford...
...Yards away seem like a mile
$20. $20. $20. And that's just for the privilege to buy a drink
for $20 once inside.
There go the tips from all your hard work waiting tables, young
actress.
Even if it's not worth it, it's the going rate for letting loose...
...Loose is skin of the elderly woman longing for retirement who
Pays a hard-earned $1.25 for every one-way trip back to Koreatown.
She always makes sure to have 5 quarters so she doesn't hold up the
line.
And there's always a line at Hollywood & Vine.
The Clubbers and The Riders never make eye-contact-
Just fixate on their destination.
Both hoping.
Hoping to find home,
To avoid a Friday alone.
I envision both crowds meeting in the middle-
Maybe a food truck would satisfy both.
I want these opposites to realize that
Between apathy and every eye roll,
There's common ground.
Pursue your needs tonight,
Bus-Stoppers and Club-Goers.
Because come Monday morning,
Because come Monday morning,
You'll both try your best to hide the fact that you
Look
forward to Friday night.
