The Best Type of Company

I walked up 17th street that night

hardly a light in sight

when I came upon Harpers Air Conditioning,

the factory looked completely dark

until I saw something 

through the window

a movement in the dark

a mass

I couldn’t quite figure out

but then

a light clicked on

and I saw him

a great big beastly man

with bulging arms

and the face of an ogre

skipping about 

dribbling

lettuce off a sandwich

and foam off a beer

hitting a recliner

and absorbing

the electric glow

of a football game.

A man in the moment

making the most of it

all by himself

no wife, no kids, or woman there to tie him down,

he was perfectly in his element

sweating his ass off

through his underwear

with a grin on his face

having the time of his life.

The wife beater, the beer, 

leather, sweat, and potato

chips 

hot nights in July

with a summer

that just wouldn’t quit

all his troubles melted away

as he sat there

laughing at the world

grabbing his nuts 

and stroking

the remote.

I stayed there for hours

watching the game with him

looking through that window

mesmerized

by the spectacle

of it all

pitch black rooms

darkened hallways

not a care in the world

not a soul in the world

there to bother him

only that TV screen

flickering on and off

on and off

fading into the background

becoming permanent.