He was born in
San Francisco and
Wore a Giants cap
All the time and after
Knowing him for a few
Years I still didn’t know
If he was bald or not
He lived in the same
Neighborhood that a
Famous pro football player
Lived in before he went
On to other places
My friend
Stayed behind
He knows everything
About bikes—frames,
Chains, tubes, tires and lube
And he shows the
Neighborhood kids how
To fix bikes if they will
Listen
And once while fixing
A bike he hurt his hand,
Damaging some nerves
And a wise ass kid said,
I know how you hurt your
Hand…by jacking off
Too much!
And my friend took off
His belt and chased
That kid who was too
Fast
And my friend didn’t have
Teeth for a long time
And one day he smiled
Shit man, you got teeth!
And I was finally able
To see him smile
And one day he
Wasn’t smiling
He’d lost his teeth
As he tells it:
Man, I was out near
The bay and I was
Just trippin’, you know.
And I looked down at that
Water and man, I don’t
Know, I just saw my life
Pass before my eyes. I was
A young kid and I saw my mom
And dad and my brother before
He got cancer and I was feeling
Good, real good
Then what happened? I asked
Well, I was trippin’, good
Vibes and then I smiled
And my teeth just popped
Right out of my mouth
And into the water. Is that
Bad luck or what?
Somewhere in
That ocean
A fish smiles
© 2014 Tony Robles