twenty nine dollars per night

a visit once
to little creek
near a naval base found us
in a one story motel
near a bar
that had on its sign,
Thursday, liver and onions night.
it was only
for two nights
that we were staying, bringing
our son to see
his grandfather
for the first time.
the drapes were thin, as was
the carpet,
commercial grade and smelling
of cleaning fluids.
a tv that may or may
not have worked
was chained to the wall,
teetering
on a bureau with missing
handles.
one bed was against the wall.
covered in a loose bedspread
the color of salmon
with starfish
embroidered in.
to the right of the bed,
perhaps where a man would
sleep was a coin machine
that took quarters.
this made the bed vibrate.
we put a quarter in,
just to see,
then checked out.