10,599. BROKEN HANDLE ON THE BEAM

BROKEN HANDLE 

ON THE BEAM

Walking the street by he antique shop,

I noticed the lanterns along the side. 

They were old and quite quaint, and

someone had left them there. Three,

in a row, forgotten. This was a fancy

place, not a flea market type thing at 

all. Architectural remnants and old

signs and doorways, and things worth

thousands. Rock stars and millionaires,

I'd seen them each inside, buying old

fixtures for the east-side digs. Once,

out back, in 1988, I saw Rod Stewart

and a woman, buying an entire old

movie-marquee, the thing above the

entrance that shows what's playing.

It was a salvage, some 35 grand.

Some guys have all the luck? 

-

Here now, there were maybe two hours

left of daylight. Once it got dark, the

lanterns wouldn't be seen, but in this

waning light, if anyone had seen them

I was sure they'd soon be gone. Since

I really didn't know what to do  -  and

because I really didn't want them in

any way, I sauntered on, alone.