Sad Times Poem by RIC BASTASA

i surf the face book of old faces
i was very thin then, and silent looking
my eyes are still sharp and i remember
not one of you wants to speak to me.
your hair was curly and you sat next
to the girl who said she really loved me
the other one kept the teasing
making the match that i did not mind
the last girl was as thin as myself
but ate her words about staying
patriotic.

After graduation i left immediately
someone promised to kill me in the city
so i left for the hills for i have my friends there.
i was so afraid and needing all support.

The rest of you went out of the country
looking for greener pastures, married
old and having only one child with
blonder hairs. I look at the pictures
again. Time passed so quickly. As
quick as thunder, and lighting. I got
hit, and i feel dying. I am here with
no definite plans, no place to go except
old age, and a mortuary insurance all
paid up.