old Mike

[Axanderdeath]

Too hot
In the house
At
The kitchen cornered by
Old man talking about
Life
In
Entirety

“Was a cook on
The rail way
And then moved to the
City
Wife died
In child birth
Long time ago”

I put my head down and say
“That’s horrible”
But
He
Don’t hear a word

“89 years
Old
The doors
Are opening”

And I think he is referring to the
White
Gates of
Heaven
And I
Want to listen more
But
Old men are hard
To speak with
Because you never know
When the are going to surprise you
With
Something completely raciest or
Out of date.

But mike who when I asked
“Are you French?”
said “I
Am Italian
a woop” and we both
Laughed and
I was
Afraid he’d keel over in
His suspenders right there
Having a smoke talking about his life
The way they all don’t
It will happen in bed at night

And every one will find it a shock
Until they remember
“Well, he was 89 years old”

Geoff A. Parsons