Photography © Edward S. Gault

 

Scratch Tickets

Two old men
scratch away
at their tickets
with the edge
of a dime.

Two looks
of great dismay
tell me all
I need to know.

A quick tear
to pieces
and a toss
in the trash
merely confirms it.

On my way out,
I glance
in that trash barrel
and there they are –
the shreds of two old men
who have
torn themselves
to pieces.

 

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Inveterate traveler who was recently in Bulgaria and Romania and is also a collector of early editions of Mad Magazine.

Edward S. Gault is a poet and fine arts photographer living in Brighton, Massachusetts. His work has appeared in Oddball Magazine, Spectrum, Wilderness House Literary Review, Interlude, Currents, and Encore. His poetry collection, Airhead and Other Poems was published this year by Read and Green Books.