Carl Rubino

Something To Look Forward To

wandering aimlessly

mixed aromas drift

mostly empty food court 

nondescript mall 

somewhere, anywhere

empty-eyed stare 

ill-fitting leisure suit 

food stains

plodding, forward mostly

velcro-closured sneakers

wondering, intermittently,

where he left his dentures 

mayonnaise 

sticking tentatively 

to a corner of unshaven growth masquerading as a moustache.

he knows the bus will be there

something to look forward to – one more step, then another

And just like that, you were gone

Not the kind of gone that anyone ever gets to come back from

The kind of gone that’s gone for good

Back to dust, dust and vapor

You probably never saw it coming

Or, if you did, it was only for an instant

An instant before that terrible sound of shattering glass and bending metal

When all went dark

Moments earlier you were spinning on a roof top in London

“Sittin’ on top of the world”

Tripping your brains out.

Why did it have to be you my sweet friend

Why did it have to be you that did a run for whatever was missing…

We were to ride with the wind on two wheels to a castle in north Wales

To watch them crown a Prince

And you would have been my princess

Hanging on and laughing, hugging me from behind as we’d rumble through the night

No wind, no rain, no cold would stop us

It was to be our long awaited journey to a love that had been brewing under the surface for years

That never had a chance to run free

But that was not to be, my love

That was not to be

They would not open the casket at your service in Bethlehem

Your sister’s laugh poured down the stairs…She laughed just like you

No, she laughed exactly like you

I almost ran upstairs when I heard it

For an instant I thought you had returned

Returned as you came to visit me through curtains that rustled in my bedroom

Two nights after you left, though there was not the slightest breeze

I knew it was you…come to say goodbye…come to say goodbye

A loss so deep can be a cruel teacher

Do you learn not to love again?

At least not to love really

Not deeply

Not with meaning

Not the kind that takes your soul

Not the kind you’d give your life for

For when your sweet life was taken

Mine went along with it…

And winter’s ghost’s crisp chill still lingers

Springing forth from summer’s molten sun

To grasp my fleeing thoughts 

In its icy fingered hand

Someday, someday, someday my love

I’ll find you again

And we’ll dance at heaven’s door

And turn our backs to the gates of hell

It’s going to go away by itself

Half a million will be gone by mid-winter

It’s not that bad…most everyone gets over it

We need more refrigerated trailers

I had it and I got over it in a few days

I just waived to Grandma on a ventilator through her hospital window

We need the new judge, so we can get rid of Obama Care

“Dear former employee: Your medical insurance grace period has expired.”

We’re turning the corner

“One thousand Americans died today”…one THOUSAND

It’s not much worse than the flu

We’re on the edge looking into the abyss, and half of us are blind

We’re just going to let it run free and then we’ll all be immune

Following the Ignorant Into Armageddon

I can’t hug anyone anymore, and I’m starting not to care

The fucking thing got me, and I’m not even sick

Wall Street is doing fine…