Hookers and Johns

by Andrey Gritsman

I turned on Channel 20
in the faceless, plastic hotel room.
Real-time story, documentary,
Johns bust,
soliciting, you know . . .

Curvy, drop-dead Latina female officer
posed as a hooker:
miniskirt, long boots, big bust,
patrolled the corner
by the pharmacy as
the GM SUV stopped,
window opened.

She leaned, exposed her
barely-hidden treasure,
and they got him!
He slowly stepped out, limping.
Walking with a cane, bald head,
older man, face invisible,
legally-required digital spot
blurred his face
on the TV screen.

Three muscular cops holding him
had a hard time putting on the cuffs:
the cane, probably bad back.
He could not bend backward
and twist his arms.

He was led away
into the police van for booking.
Gorgeous Latina added lipstick

to her plump lips.
The back-up crew took position
behind the Wal-Mart truck,
watching their bait.

I switched to the History Channel
and watched for a while
American GIs advancing in the jungle,
and Captain Franklin P. Eller
talking on the field phone
held by the South Vietnamese serviceman
during the Tet Offensive.

Then I fell asleep
before tomorrow’s early meeting,
before the quick omelet in the coffee shop downstairs
with unforgettable sunny Polish waitress Renata,
who has not passed her exams yet
and was stuck in the joint,
hopefully not for long.