He would stumble back to heaven

When I was a child of 5/6/7
we had a neighborhood mascot
a man, gnarled/bent/white
to a child he seemed ancient
(though in hindsight,
he was closer to 45/55/65)

He would tell us children
that he was God
we had no reason to doubt
He would also, eat uncooked noodles,
and sometimes,
when he smelled soured
with death/whiskey/wine
he would dance a mighty jig
sing out "CHARGE!"
and run head-first into the nearest
tree/dumpster/brick-wall
then bleeding, and clutching a bottle
he would stumble back to heaven

 

Published March 18, 2012