Untitled

he’s old and mean and he has no heart

the man down the street

that is

he lives alone

with no company but

his old hollow chest

and when the tweens come rolling by

on skateboards, bikes, and scooters

he retreats inside

and ignores their squeals and screeches               

but the mean old man

he has a story

like  every other neighbor

once upon a time

he was a soldier

with friends

a wife

and kids

then the day came along

when a choice was made

and he lost his love forever

so now he sits

alone

in the dark

abandoned by the world

afraid of loving

of feeling

of knowing

that pain

all over again

and the kids

make fun

on Halloween

of his old “haunted” house

little do they

know

the only thing haunted

is himself

so they giggle and laugh

and dare each other

to go as far as they can

up the drive way

up the steps

ring the doorbell

no one answers

no one answers

the knocks or the rings

or the police

no one answers when they

bust down the door

and they found him there

with a hole in his chest

‘cause after all he had no heart