legend

                        they say he was once a doctor or
                        a lawyer, some big time honcho
                        who one day decided he’d
                        had enough of his wife
                        and children, bills, the white
                        fence, the American flag, fine
                                    dining, neighbors, friends, traffic,
                        library cards, eggs over easy, Sunday
                        mass and the world at large

so he left
he left everything behind
everything that matters
to those still living
a life that begins
with the pledge of allegiance
and ends on knees
thanking god
for days waking
and healthy
and bountiful

for a life of wandering
of internal dialogue
for the infernal
eyes of judgment
for 5 cent can
exchange for
showers of rain
water for timelessness
pure and sound
for the shadows
of crows
picking carcasses
from freeways
for angels
for demons
for a closer look
at all things immortal

and there

stands the old boy
fishing nickels
from soda machines
and telephone booths
a beard mugging his face
a thick matted dread
the length of his frame
eyes of defunct
traffic signals
frightening mothers
and their children
from fast food lines

and there stands
the old boy
sun burned and
frozen stoned
against the firm
pillows of democracy

there stands the old boy
who gave everything
for nothing

which I think
in terms most sincerely
means everything