The Old Men of Elba
by Robert Halleck
They sit, two to four usually, on an iron bench
in front of the café fronting the harbor shrouded
with the morning grey. They are old men
now wearing the rough clothes: thick, dark pants,
brimmed caps, wool socks, and heavy boots that kept\
flesh from sun, rain, and harm when sea life
was mean and bonita and gilthead were plentiful.
They are survivors of a world that offered few
rewards other than family, children, and friends.
They argue politics from rolled newspapers lying
on laps weighted down by coffee and ashtrays.
Nothing is needed until noon when conversation
will shift to lunch, a nap, and morning tourist
observations. There is a lingering sadness of friends
no longer there to smell the sour mud and peace
as time makes room for nothing to happen.
BIO: Robert Halleck lives and works in Del Mar California. Two of his poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Recent poems have appeared or will appear in The North Dakota Quarterly, The Lothlorien Poetry Journal, and The Milton Review.