Shiny Cars

we were buried at sea
in an old neighborhood.
she had been homesick for it;
i didn't think it would do any good
eating cans of soup on the front porch
with sweet potato chips.
the good lady forgave me my youthful pranks,
kissed me on the lips.
watching shiny cars passing on the street,
an unexpected crash!
i had no intention of behaving myself;
got thrown out with the trash,
became more unstable than ever,
hitting the ceiling and the booze,
swimming like a happy duck
couldn't choose
until foreboding overcame me
and i ran out of luck.
put down roots on the wrong side
often for laughter;
other times out of fatalism:
died sometime before noon or shortly thereafter
but still returned by nine o'clock
like a schoolboy crawling to his retreat
on the porch i sat with acting ambitions
watching shiny cars passing on the street.