the end of an era

we were stranded in cleveland

angie dickinson and me and the spider monkey

we’d huddle together

to stay warm most nights

the rats nibbling on our feet

the fresh venison laid out on the end tables

the flies in slow lazy circles

buzzing through the tent

she’d tell me stories of when she was starting out in the business

how she’d got her big break in ‘police woman’ 

she’d dated charles dierkop for a while

but the relationship ended in his apparent suicide

she’d always end the story with the question

‘who never dies?’ 

gazing out the hotel’s window

chewing on one of the deer legs