But why, I went to college

Contra remembers living in Queens
when the area code was 212 and
a slice of pizza and a soda were
only fifty cents

He never planned for Thanksgiving dinner,
something he learned from his procrastinator
parents. Nor did he ever tell anyone where
he was going after the lights went out.

Contra used to be cool with his bomber
leather jacket, long rock'n roll hair,
Black Sabbath T-shirt and mc boots
He used to impress the chicks with his
bicycle popping wheelies over the sidewalk

Buying one token each way
from college back home
Riding between the subway cars
just to be away from the crowds
The thunderous subway metal pounding
reminded him of a Neil Peart drum solo

Weekends were made for hanging out
at friend's basement or the local mall,
listening to Deep Purple 8 tracks and
early Van Halen LPs,
drinking beer, play some handball until
the Spanish guys claimed the court

Life was sweet and then came work,
starting from the bottom rung of the ladder,
getting coffee and lunch for everyone,
making Xerox copies and pasting cuttings
Contra didn't understand why he had to
pay his dues, after all he went to college.


From "Salt 'N Pepper"
REODELCIGARRILLO
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