don’t have much of an alternative by Bogdan Dragos

"I was raised in a strict
Christian home," he said
as he poured
another glass of whiskey.
"That's why I turned atheist
right after
I left to be
on my own."

"At 18?" I asked

"Nope. At 24."

I liked the guy. He was somewhere in
his late fifties
looking forward to pensioning

worked as janitor
in an office building

and the reason they all
called him crazy was that
he swore
he saw someone in the
women's bathroom
right after closing time
as he went to clean

A female figure standing by
the mirror

she must've been real, he said,
because her presence activated
the sensor lights
in the room

It was a story I've heard
dozens of times

And I don't care how real it is

I believe him
because I want to

I want the story to be
real

Had he not
had a story like that to share
we wouldn't have been
friends today

"Wanna hear my advice?" I
asked him.
And without him saying anything
I went on. "Don't quit.
This job... is perfect. Trust me."

"I don't have much of an
alternative," he said

"Me neither," I said

Many thanks to LatinosUSA —English edition for featuring my poem, "don’t have much of an alternative"!

Check it out HERE!

Thank you!