The Little Winner

The blue clouds floated away
So I turned to go up the alley
And the rain came down on a sunny day
As the little boys ran the shows

They pitched nickels against wooden walls
And drank beer from iron mugs
Between the cracks in the sidewalk
Worms came out of the dirt
While the young girls cried for mommy

The old man came around the corner
Screaming  profanity at the sky
An iron mug struck his head 
And as he fell, the tart stole his money
Then his best friend took his coat

And as the boy picked up his nickels
He spat in the old mans face
Then he laughed so hard, that his hat blew away in the wind
They turned to go but the gang was waiting

The big boy had the old mans coat
And a smile that said "Run away as fast as you can"
The children scattered like leaves 
But the big boy was at every corner

The little winner was tripped up around the bend
And now he lay in the mud from yesterday
He offered his winnings then rose to go
Now his fate lie in the broken wind

The eyes peered out from cars and doors
As he was pushed around for fun
The big boy stepped on his leg then pulled a gun
And told him to sing a song

"Why not keep me smiling for a while
At least till the old man wakes up"
So he sung about the stairway 
And the long and winding road

Then as the old man stumbled on the scene
A slug fell right between his eyes
A bobby heard the sound of death
Then came and took the big bad boy

Then they all came out and pitched some nickels
And passed around a pipe
The girls came out and sang a song
While the worms slithered back into their holes

4/16/1995