Honest Babe an 'er husband Abe
'ad been a little dollars scored
and were sored at the score....


her broker
broker joker
(a trick name)
he got from his girl friend
and his friend
in a midnights game
at
Good Night Irene's
Coffee an pale of ailinG
BoutiquE
...of
poker..?
(to break the routine)
(of ailing...?)
won every 'an all
last half and quarter final
and went home soberly drunk
pleased with the ale

a singing:
"ninety nine bottles of ale
on the wall
if one of the bottles should happen to fall
there'd be
ninety nine hundred more
added to the score"
at Good Irenes' house
good ole house of ailing

A singing:
"Ninety nine plus ninety hundred more
less one equals ninety nine hundred ninety eight"
"An' ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall
If one of the bottles should happen to fall"
There'd be ninety nine hundred ninety eight bottles for me an Babe
an Irene's house of ailing...

per year
less the overhead
an wholesale fees due each year for her stock
of beer.

But when he 'ad added
the returns on all the containers
and 'ad found he 'an Irene
hadn't even paid for the
playing table
concrete floor
or the gas for the trip to the store
at the the boutique where they all 'ad faithfully gathered daily nightly
and yearly
'an 'ad balanced all their books
been good with all the
local 'an
long distance crooks
'an those who they knew 'ad cheated at the table

..WHERES all the
Seventy Seven thousand four hundred million six hunbdred an' thirty two
gallons of delivered an' drunken ale
..over seventy years of expert poker
playing, hardy handshaking, an
loath-ed ailing?


Abe..? an'is babe Babe...
... He was for sure sorE!!!...

FOR SURE

an'proceeded with and kept this time his own private
secretly coded
confidential
password protected
ScorE
at 'is new place
Abes' 'an his new babe Dees'
AB and C
'an kept careful track of all the containers an' returns
'an fees
To see an' find out who
was buying his beer 'an returning it full undrunk at a loss for himself
("not to be drunk")
he'd say each time
he came around
with his fees
less the returns
'an on the house frees
for 'is social prowless
'an poker playing
an' 'ad acrued a very large bill for his
unused new bottle of beers 'an unused containers
he redelivered nightly
back an' forth across the street
('ad wore a hole in all the yards) with his feet
'ad dug a deep hole in the cash
for the stash
pay all the help
an' truckers, girls
an' clerks
and 'ad not had a drop of ale.

"Thanks for not drinking any of the alE"
"Thats' all right"
An' left for home for the night
Where he did not drink in private either.

An, had started over with
JUST
one bottle of beer
left
on the wall
that was held in escrow
on hold
for uncollected funds
his banker, agent
bookerkeep
chief cook an' bottle washer
'ad made personally available
Without even a single clue
to a crook in the house
an ill meaning thought
Or any illicut
intentional cheating lieing or stealing
bad luck
misfortune
(less all of their cherished and personal ailing)
seems to go an' go an' go
an keep on going on...)

at
Abe' an' 'is new babe Dees'
AB and C