Jaffa

late afternoon wanes. greek drunk energy. we're old men playing backgammon. slouched over the board, slamming marble on cork wood, lose, win, lose more. spill into houses warm with dinner. one, two, cognac, stumble bathroom. in the mirror, dull reflection, wrinkles cut deeper on these mysterious faces. parents gone, feeling alone, nubbed cigarette, smoke dancing from ashtray. there's no one sometimes. the day swallows us in fragments til we surrender. wash face, brush brittle teeth, sleep, dream everything, past failures, things we couldn't see, dark, touch bottom, don't rest, never settle, find a way up, finally wake up, wake up by grace of god wake up, eyes will open again, optimistic with sun.