I will not think of death or age
I will drink and write
attend boxing matches and roller derbies
I will listen to Rachmaninoff and Bach
I will only need enough money to reach the sun
I will only need enough love to love the next woman
and enough nerve to live through the smashup
of that &
enough pecker and heart to go at it again.

I will not think of death or age
and when they say, hey, old man!
I will not turn my head but walk on through the
vultures as if they were sleeping
canaries.
I will only need enough money to reach the sun
and one more woman and one more woman and
one more woman,
courage to the pecker and the exploration
of one more soul or one less soul.

I will not think of death or age
it's useless to do so
I will seek out the horseraces and the winebottle
I will roll Prince Albert into Zig-Zag
and peer at young schoolgirls through my torn
curtain,
I will be bent and hungover
yellow-toothed, and crazed as the weathervane
I will only need enough money to become partners
with the sun,
and I will need a woman in bed with me
my foot touching hers as we sleep after having
loved,
death and age are useless things,
and no matter what they say
no man ever truly believes that someday
he will die.

I will not think of death or age
there's no energy in doing so
all my needs are here and they are honeyed
and sharp
oranges like hurricanes
females like tigers
love working overtime
even my losing horses look best
and there's time for more miracles like
Picasso and Van Gogh and
the next woman and enough nerve to live
through the smashup of that &
enough pecker and heart to go at it again.

© Frank Silvanski