Later Man
long hair and beard
he looked
don’t fuck with me tough
he was the leader
of a biker club
leader of the pack
we worked together awhile
in the early seventies
we were both mellow guys
and we hit it off
we talked a lot
about life in general
he loved his mom and sister
and baseball
he was a student and philosopher
of everything
we laughed
and told stories of growing up
he was smart and funny
and beneath the tough exterior
was just a goofy kid like me
in the same time period
different hood
but we got along
and I liked him
we were sharing a joint
in the work parking lot one time
and he said
we’re all a bunch of pretzels
we start from the same goo
but get twisted a little different
and it gets baked in
which seemed funny at the time
and after work hours
we went our separate ways
and at some point
I quit the place
and never went back
and our friendship
faded into history
then I saw on the nightly news
a homicide
a man beaten
then shot dead
in an alley
behind a bar
on the near north side
they flashed a mug shot
of the killer
and it was him
leader of the pack
and I was stunned
I knew he lived
a little closer to the edge
where a lot of energy happens
both good and bad
obviously he found the worst
I don’t know what more to say
later man
— C Driver
