ADULT BOOKSTORE OF MY YOUTH

Folder: 
CHOKE THE CHICKEN

 

The adult bookstore

was always there in Bristol;

the old Bristol World News

on Route 13.

 

It’s where I discovered porn

as a teenage lad

& purchased whippets.

It was always there

Beckoning; calling out to me.

 

appealing to teenage hormones;

the better angels were

readily cast asunder.

 

I find myself wistful

& waxing nostalgic

for an old adult bookstore.

 

--to my knowledge—

still standing—

that porn shop of my youth.

 

There were occasional fistfights

in the parking lot

& ne’er do wells in abundance.

Vagabonds hanging out

with nothing better to do.

 

That mad rush of memories

(the word “rush” is apropos)

doing whippets

and whiffs of amyl nitrate.

 

Using fake I.D. to sneak in

and purchase literature

not entirely suited—

but incredibly alluring—

for young teenage minds.

 

I routinely pass it by now

without stopping in

but I can’t honestly say

that these are better days.

 

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