over the rapid clip-clip and snip-snip
of his flying instruments.
I went for ten minutes every month;
my gaze would meet his on silver surface
that was bruised and chipped; I'd catch
the steel gleam in his grey eyes and
note the eloquent lift of his right
eyebrow.
The place smelled of lavender
and bay rum
over exhalations of linoleum.
He touched on important subjects;
women, football, cars, condoms,
the latest gas leak and
how every creature on earth was preyed
upon by some other creature.
He was a fount of wisdom and insight
and when he paused to catch a thought
he made half-masticated noises
with his loose teeth. There was a vein
to his chat if you followed it. Words
gushed from him.
Customers came and went
swift as swallows;
restless, shifting,
fugacious as time itself.
