THE OLD MEN

Old men who have studied

every leg show

in the city

Old men cut from touch

by the perfumed music —

polished or fleeced skulls

that stand before

the whole theater

in silent attitudes

of attention, —

old men who have taken precedence

over young men

and even over dark-faced

husbands whose minds

are a street with arc-lights.

Solitary old men for whom

we find no excuses —

I bow my head in shame

for those who malign you.

Old men

the peaceful beer of impotence

be yours!