LatinosUSA

some people are

bums by choice

Walking by

I’d see him in arid summer days

sitting behind the wheel

windows rolled down

a stumpy cigarette between his lips

a small chapbook in his hand

Never got to see the title

but I do recall

the image on the cover

‘t was a burning tree with one

shadowy, just vaguely human

silhouette hanging from it

He probably wasn’t the kind of man

you’d want to

have in your circles

and perhaps his image dirtied

the overall aura of the neighborhood

I don’t know

Don’t care

All I do know now is that I’ll never

get the chance to

walk up to his truck

and ask him what he’s reading

and show him that I

too have chapbooks of my

own now

and I too

enjoy dark poetry

Well,

we both

probably enjoy

goodbyes

even more