Ragged Rhymster Poem by Michael Pruchnicki

Street lamps wink out
darkness fades into dawn's gloom-

A bearded vagrant awakens
from dreams of doom
He shakes off sleep
and rises from the dump
to bum a five from a guy
filling his SUV at the pump
and heads out to the first
place to quench his thirst-

He's declined from the man he was
Ambition for glory no longer gnaws
Lust for gold has left him bereft
Avarice he now considers theft-

In barrooms uptown he's renowned
as the bearded bard whose verses astound!
Wealthy clientele from the tony north shore
praise the poet who shuns a bookstore
and prefers drinks to come by the score!