Beheaded. Lopped off. 

Pogót.

         It could mean your actual and

Nameless martyrdom

                                    Of which there is 

Too much here among the poor

Of the pier: The notorious Páto 

(Epithet, euphemism, code-shift: 

The Duck), feisty entrepreneur for the dingy

Pastimes of the Dock: holes-in-the-wall

With wailing juke box, dimly-lit or 

Garish as their resident painted 

Ladies—last stop for the gin-soused

Porter splurging his daily wage,

Or the gritty interisland sailor, just as poor.

And the clean-cut, newly-honed

Big boys from the Dominican university

Nearby trying to earn their spurs. Or 

(Repeat code-shift): 

                                 Beheaded: Pogót: 

Lopped off. Your fate 

                                    If caught

(By your wife).

​