going to the strip bar

a couple friends
are coming from out of town;
I owe one of them
a favor and he's keen on it:
"They give naked lap dances!"
as opposed to the bar in his city

I used to be keen on it;
I've given a lot of three-dollar tips
and spent hundreds for a night
and a hangover

But tonight I'll drink Sprite
and I'll spend my whole twenty-five.
I don't think much about sex lately
and I'm glad.
It's served its purpose;
I'll have two sons in two weeks
with two different women.
I'd go through that cycle
again if it were convenient
but that has nothing to do
with tonight.
I'm not the kind of guy
strippers tend to go home with,
and that doesn't trouble me
much at all.

maybe I'll buy a girl a drink
or maybe I'll practice the zen
of one dollar per show,
secure in my big spender friends

at least I won't wake up
tommorow
with an empty wallet
and the bends