the guys

these men, friends
gathered without wives
or girlfriends, to eat,
to drink, to sit in a tight
circle and avoid
talking about illness or
death, poverty
of soul or pocket.
it's a life raft with a mission
of keeping the night
afloat, of skipping
over the rough
and laughing, poking
one another, wrestling like
the young puppies
you once were
when you met so long ago.