Failed hitchhiking in the fevers of Highway 54
and only expecting trouble at the Fort Bliss gate
I quit and laid dead on the road.
The asphalt impression made a relief map on my chest.
To make my sack a better pillow,
I took out the can of corned beef hash
food for when I end my endless angry abstinence.

There was a rustling blond cat in a bush by the light pole.
I sat up, 
looked at an orange shard of tail light
and a rusted flattened beer bottle cap
eucharist for the machines
and then back at the blond cat
that was chewing a small lizard.

My tongue curiously pushed my incisor
making it bleed once again
swallowing
I was scared and slowly pulled it out.

My tongue cried at the empty lot I left
and showered in the blood
swallowing
I was scared and the others felt loose as well.

My incisor bounced ticking when I let it go
to scoot it around with my crying finger
rolling it to pick up highway sand in the asphalt.
I picked it up
cleaned it on my pant leg
and with my incisor
I scratched blond cat across my forearm.
The T came out an x
and I put it in my sack and slept.

Waking up there was a bearded cop
and a female truck driver bunching gauze 
mumbling "blond cax? cax? idiot." 
The bearded cop said, "Are you awake? The boys awake. Yep, All right you've got them from here." 
Then he kicked over my can of corned beef hash saying,
"Who the hell wants that?"

He walked back to his car and shooed away
the blond cat that was watching
from underneath in its shadow

"Hey love, son of a bitch is under your truck 
Watch out You don't run him flat over."
The truck Driver gauzed up my arm softly saying,
"OK, hon."
and then tied the end in a knot

She looked at me with her reflective brown eyes
and then she put her hand on my chest
tapping it with her finger.
she said, "You can't be out here like this hun."

Hun hit me hard And I smiled.

She gasped covering her mouth and yelled, 
"Come back here Lee,
this kid has got half his teeth in the back of his mouth
about to be swallowed.
Bring a cup with you, and water,
and Lee, bring some more gauze."

  
The bearded cop came over empty handed.
"All I got is coffee."
knelt down to where I could hear his leather shoes creak
then opened my mouth with two prying fingers saying, 
"Son of a bitch."

Finally,
slowly dragging his tail to pick up highway sand
The blond cat walked down the highway
walked down the highway to scratch "bleeding boy" across his forearm.