Smack dab in the middle of a good time,
she smiles and asks me—quite innocently—

Why are you here
with someone half your age?

I spoke honestly:

Because I’m lonely. Because old friends die,
and I need new ones.

How? she asks, with a lover’s kind eyes.

Me: Well—
some went in a blaze of glory.
Others,
in hospital beds first,
like a movie spoiler—

Her: No, silly— How are you lonely? With all you’ve got…

Well, look around the bar.
The widower sipping the diet cola knows.
Tomorrow and the next day know too.
There’s one big difference
between the survivors and the dead—

One of ‘em was better company.

-

But, despite all that,
you’re here.
laughing long and well,
from your belly to your ribs.

And I laugh too—
like the dead did once.

—

And tonight that feels nice,
when the conversation flows easy.