hello darkness, my old friend

we used to greet him

with the words
from a paul simon song,

hello
darkness,
my old friend.

he could see the cloud
in
any silver lining.

the joy
in any pain.

the fun in any catastrophe.
he actually
liked

being in the Vietnam
war.
the jungle,
the killing,

the mines and mortars,
the choppers
flying about.

bankruptcy, no problem.
divorce.
jail.

a heart attack, whoopee.
no problem.

you had to love him.
he could make
it rain

on just about any sunny
day. wherever you
are today,

hello darkness,
my old friend.