dealt from a brooklyn shuffle
a handful of losers
and sometime winners
mismatched so badly
it was anybody’s guess
but as we shared the same handicaps
and had so little at stake
we told imaginative versions
of our multicolored pasts
and we had ourselves a friendly game
and even sunshine was friendly
but sunshine was no one’s friend
sunshine got greedy
and more and more frequently
we crossed each other’s paths
in the subterranean maze
we were happily lost in
and various forms of brotherhood
began taking shape
school was in session
but, like always
you have to want to learn
and the lessons fell like snowflakes
and the sun shined in the blizzard
but the sunshine was no one’s friend
sunshine got greedy
and as the concrete profundity
of hard learned lessons
hardens further
in passing time
the dominoes rattle
and distract me
and I indulge myself
in a friendly game
but with the decided advantage
of my experience
because if anybody gets greedy
i’ll know what to do
sunshine got greedy
sunshine got greedy
and greedy was my friend
jan 25, ‘88
© 1988
