You Play a Game

His name was Little Bird, brown and thin,
his friends snapped wrists and
called, "hey-ey malaka! Little Bird, malaka!"
and he was brown and thin, and I
liked his smile and I liked his beer.
But it was closing night and my hands
were sweaty or dry, I was three shots
deep in someone else's arms, and when Little Bird
bought me a cold corona, I slipped and
dropped it on the dance floor.
My face was laughing but I was apologizing, and
his friends were nice but their faces were screaming,
and he said he'd come back with a new one.

When Little Bird returned, he
was still brown and thin, and I
was drunk or dry and three shots into someone new.
I don't know when he disappeared,
I don't know what I said. But I know why
nobody called him by his real name, I know why
his eyes didn't smile when he looked at me.

Malaka is Greek slang, used in friendly or aggressive terms meaning either wanker or a--hole. :)