De Niro Upstairs by Mark Tulin—Art by Ira Joel Haber—Oddball Magazine

Artwork by Ira Joel Haber.
— Read on oddballmagazine.com/poem-by-mark-tulin/

Poem by Mark Tulin
January 21st, 2020|Art, Contributors, Poetry|0 Comments
 

De Niro Upstairs

On the third floor lives a charismatic young man
with De Niro good looks, a full-length leather coat
and the fortunate woman who won the lottery
to sleep with him.

His headboard bangs, the bed squeaks and squeals
like a train whistle blowing at midnight.
Their passion and sweaty embrace
penetrates my room, saturates my underutilized body.

The lady of the night sings his praises in high octaves,
loud, pleasurable moans and shrills
with every bounce and thump,
she keeps asking De Niro upstairs for more.

While I lie under the covers bored,
listening to the carnal pleasures above,
sleeping only with my virginal fantasies,
rising at dawn like a choirboy
for an English Lit class at nine.

I experience his moment vicariously
on a vacant brass bed in a boarding house room
to be the man of her dreams,
quivering and grateful for the opportunity
to be honored by the great De Niro upstairs.