this one's for house music

for years I stood outside in a piss-scented wind
giving away ten cigarettes a night and smiling
harassed and confronted sitting or standing
half-frozen greeting vato loquitos nightly
dealing with a handful of loveable crazies
crackheads meth heads and various types of junkie blinds
an endless array of world-class DJs & musical masterminds
worth every poop smeared night spent with tears in my eyes
just to hear it to be near to it to stay in touch with it and be near enough by
to warm in the glow of the crowd all bouncing in time
all sweating together bathed in strobing multi-colored light
packed tight in the airless humid basement but smiling
pushing out the door drunk to smoke or cool down
from their bare skin damp clothes and hair steam rising