A POEM - THAT WAS HOW WE DID IT THERE

THAT WAS HOW WE DID IT THERE
He walked in through the door
Saw me sitting there at the bar,
A glass of beer in my hand
Half drank, a shitty grin on my face.
“oh, jesus Christ.”
“hello, friend. I’ve been waiting
For you.”
“don’t you ever quit?”
“not unless somebody’s kneeling
On my neck.”
He shook his head. He knew the score.
“oh, fuckin’ A.”
He pulled out a stool and sat down.
The barman nodded and
Set about wiping a glass and filling it
Up with a draft.
I took a coin out from my pocket.
Got it set on my thumb,
Ready to be flipped.
I looked over at him.
“heads,” he said.
I flipped the coin.
It came up heads
And I reached into my pocket,
Pulled out a dollar bill
And set it on the bar
In front of him.
I set the coin up on my thumb again.
“heads.”
It came up heads again
And I pulled out another single,
Set it on the bar.
That was how we did it there.