king who would go down with honor

he had no shoes
and you could hardly call
his shirt a shirt
but he
sat between those two
trash cans like some king
on his throne
  
holding to a stick
like a scepter
  
He drank from an old
rusty can of
beans
but held it like some golden
goblet
  
Clearly he lost the
ability to
taste because in the can
he mixed all he could
find in the trash
  
Beer with vodka
with tequila with wine
and acetone
and rubbing alcohol
  
He had a fearsome guardian
about him
A white dog who constantly
licked his vomit from
the ground
  
It looked black
and spongy
like coffee grounds
  
Some passersby offered to help him
and he refused
  
This was a king who
would go down with honor
after he lost
his kingdom


46 thoughts on “king who would go down with honor

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  1. I loved its darkness… A little sad though, can’t help but feel sorry for him. Great intro to character as usual too. Cool poem, great read. Well done 😊

    Liked by 3 people

  2. The dog was the part where I went from “I like how he’s building this” to “this is freaking awesome.” Because I know if something like this happened to me, my dog is the one creature that would never abandon me no matter how bad it got.

    I’m building a Facebook page, “Found Online,” where I can share links to poems I really enjoy for others to visit your site and explore your work. This poem is one I chose to link to. Check out the page at: https://www.facebook.com/joestoutfoundonline

    Liked by 3 people

  3. Love how you elevated the mundane (some would say “foul”) into imagery that clearly bespeaks a sense of majesty, of royalty. Perhaps this is how Mother Teresa chose to view all those whose lives she touched…

    Liked by 2 people

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