Asphalt and blacktop

Shoes skid, bleeding knees, a tribute to

Days

       Gone

                 By

The best kind

Of apathy and failure

Met with stupid, smiling grins and scraped elbows

Beating on the door of

The guy two doors down, who

Has a daughter and was

Divorced last January.

He asks for a Band-Aid

He gives him a glass of orange juice,

Pats him on his shoulder, says

“Savor it,” till

The cub runs loose to his pack—

No pain, no gain,

The best kind of gain gets him grounded

But boy, leaves him with a story to tell.