The Last Go-Around

Cletus looks good for sixty
and the hard traveling
he has done. A girl at the
beauty shop confessed she
keeps his bronze hair all
one color.

I saw him recently down
at the Korner Kitchen. He
had a three-stack before him
and was slathering on soft
margarine and maple syrup
and talking to the regulars who
eat breakfast there.

"Yeah, you heard it right.
I'm gonna tie the knot again.
You don't know her, a little
redhead from Yuba City.
How many times does
this make?"

He put down his fork and
counted on his left hand.
"Marge, Mary, Lavelle, and Betty.
That makes four, don't it?
Well I can tell you for certain
this is my last go-around."

Notes

McDaniel, Wilma. (2001) Borrowed Coats. Hanging Loose Press, Brooklyn, New York.
Courtesy University of California, Merced Library. Copyright owned by the Regents of the University of California.