trout

The Conversation

Mark Pirie

'Like O'Hara said,
you just go on your nerve,'

he says to me. It's dark.
We're alone in a car-

park, exchanging cash.
He calls someone on

his cellphone deep in
the heart of the city.

But the man's not home.
He leaves a message

and I briefly forget his face;
only now I imagine

he's saying something
about the gig tomorrow

night, will I come? It'll be under
lights, 'there'll be women, lots',

and, of course, he says, 'we'll
continue our conversation again.'