Ash

[couchgrouch]

AshBill slumped down in the alley, with the cats and trashfound his pack...lit a smoke and watched the glowing ashhis mem'ry flipped its pages, found one it kept markedcos the day he met that lady, his life began to sparkright before they married, he joined the Denver forcecos a stronger today might help, tomorrow take its coursehe thought of long wintersfire logs burnt to cinders cos they were short of cashas he sat there smokin'those mem'ries seemed broken and grey as ashafter Bill made sergeant, they drove to Mexicomade love by the ocean, 'neath sundown's cherry glowit wasn't till his lady, was seven months alongany of those doctors, found a damn thing wrongand nothing's worse...no greater curse than dyin' while giving birththeir child was warmer with his mom, than here on this earthand time kept turninglife kept burning and seemed gone in a flashas he kept thinkin'his Winston kept shrinkin' and was nearly ashBill took a long drag, his chest felt warm n wethis life's pages closed on, her last hours in that bedmaybe that's why...it wasn't just pride that made him foolish that daycos he knew better than to chase, two punks down an alleywaybut as the smoke floated upward, in the still of the nightsomewhere in the blackness, lay a silver lightand in that dark nightdistant starlight shone on his badgethat alley grew colderhis Winston smoldered till it was just ash(c)2005 Robert George