of life and death

knowing something of life and death,
i sat with 20 men
being just one of the guys
on an open bar stool
hoping for a summer of love,
aware that my youth died with the early spring.

i caught a whiff of their fragrant lies
between sips of the coldest beer.

then, playing fast, i watched a slow game of pool,
hearing several languages,
and recognized one of them
(having traveled in my earlier days).

a sullen man with the darkest beer
moved quietly toward an exit door.

he had heard everything he could,
yet still was in need of adventure
and looking for something more,
a stiff shot of excitement, say,
when mysteries fill the rear parking lot,
he danced on the hoods of cars
and flung himself into outer space
without even leaving the earth.

there was a sailor going home
with garlic on his breath and tattoos on his arms.

he stopped at his dented car hood in amazement,

and watched the sullen man
enter heaven overhead
without a care for what he was leaving.