The old man

I watched the old man
falling off the wagon
smiling, shaking hands,
standing a round here and there
the whole way down.

I watched the old man
liven up the room
with an off-color joke
a little loudly
and the brayish laughter
of easy friends.

I watched the old man,
as the decades fell off,
undoing all that hard work
spilling promises and ice
all over the table.

I watched the old man
falling off the wagon
and I wished his family could see
how happy this moment is for him.

gauche
10 May 10