Toby

Toby never met a drink he didn’t love except scotch,

Or a human being he did.

He was smart as a whip and dumb as a rock

At the same time.

He believed he was the world’s greatest con man

And that he was too smart for anyone to catch him at it.

He was wrong.

In his life time, he ran through friends and family alike

Until there was no one left who cared if he lived or died.

The only time he was really sober was when he was in jail,

But once out he violated probation and left the state.

He roamed free for years, repeating his destructive ways,

Always one step away from arrest.

He used up any good will anyone extended him then moved on to someone else.

Until there was no one left.

When he played his final con, he miscalculated badly.

He conned himself into believing he could survive on the streets.

He lasted only weeks.

When he was found, it took them longer to identify him than he’d been missing.

No one reported him, because no one knew he was gone.

He is buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave in a place he never even visited.

In years to come, there may be some,

Who knew him before drinking became his sole purpose in life,

Who will remember a time when he was fun,

But those memories will have been hard won.

©2016 bobbi ann duffy