double matinee

the term "aliens"
belongs to sci-fi features
you pay a nickel
and for the length of a double matinee
you leave the strain of time
the whine of boredom
behind you eat the feast
of green-headed,
google-eyed,
antenna-bearing
illegal immigrants
from across the ozone

while those nickels
and those starry eyes of yours
plink into jars
collected by seven-fingered hands
beyond the seam of the Universe
in a place where they will add up
collect interest
and pay off
your soul's journey
by teleportation
to an oasis of ecstasy
on a Sunday afternoon
in the dead heat
of forgotten summers
with your best buddy
and his ugly sister