7th Street Cuddle-Up by Wayne Allen Sallee

her supplicating arms
beckoned
and he stumbled
to his death
; tongue on electric fingertips
palpable as suck-
ing on copper
batteries in a night so clear
downtown stairs
were voyeurs to grime
too late. he wished
for that Arizona
trip and she wrapped him
in sleep --
a beat cop found him
at dawn,
terror piss frozen
on
his
leg