when a nickel
bought a cup of coffee,
I was drinking milk

not a word --
her eyes said it all
so I listened

stark naked --
she didn't know in poker
she could deal too

so lovely
in the moonlight,
even dead

going home
after serving thirty years --
or leaving it

he was tough
I'll give him that --
was

talking
to the mirror --
you talking to me

bent and twisted...
we never laughed at his lisp
again

as I recall
it was over the gravy --
my head still hurts

it has a purpose
but not what he used it for --
the short handle hoe

dark and gloomy night:
the beginning of an end
that never goes well

sixty for twenty
and for each day past due --
you don't want to know

he was my partner
but we had differences --
may he rest in peace

Lefty knew no fear --
unfortunately for him
that's all he knew

three fingers of rye --
the bartender charges me
an arm and a leg

and a shed out back,
but no one has been in there
since the hanging

it's not always dew
one might see on the rose...
what a relief