Marbles In My Pocket ~ The Official Blog of Charles L. Mashburn ~ Poems, Short Stories, and random thoughts from the author of "Be Still… and know that I am God"

You look a lot older in person, I said

I wasn’t expecting the gray hair

Or the weathered look

Must be the dry desert air

How old you think I am, he said

Giving me one a those lopsided grins

Voice still smooth as ever

Every word spoken like a song

I thought about it for a bit

Shrugged and said, maybe eighty

He didn’t look that  old

But the math said he might be

Damn, son, he said

The grin sliding away

Sad eyes looking at me

Like a hound dog sent to the porch

Sorry, man, I said

Holding my hands up; surrendering

There just ain’t no accounting

For a fool such as I

He laughed and raised his hand

We high-fived; his one-sided grin reappeared

And he said, well that’s all right

Long as you stay offa my blue suede shoes

I got up to leave, shook his hand

Told him I was glad he wasn’t dead

He made me promise not to tell where he was

Lot of suspicious minds out there, he said

I walked away, looking back one more time

Grinned at the flashing neon sign above him

A big blue moon floated above red letters

HEARTBREAK HOTEL

Below, smaller letters read, try the king’s sweets

A picture of a Twinkie was below that

As I slid into my pickup, the old guy mumbled

Thank ya, thankyaverymuch

Copyright © 2013 C Mashburn