“There is no honor amongst thieves
even less with trailer-park debutantes”

Early life lesson from a bartender who
worked his bottle opener like a scrapyard
crane operator dumping rusty Chevys,
spun a corkscrew as a master drill press
operator teaching an apprentice

But that was years ago, when the price
of a drink was considered cheap tuition
whether auditing the neighborhood class
or undergrad-afterthought clubbing

Now I know better

You pay for the best education paying
attention to detail, not with Franklins

People tell tales; life instructs,
proctors its own tests
sometimes you get your grade
rarely offers extra credit

Life’s tests are not standardized
multiple choice essays true/false

Just do the homework
skip the cramming
know it or you don’t

Seeing it living it understanding it
where, when it all went south
when you’ve reached the summit
how you did it, maybe could again

sometimes you just walk away

platitudes, platypus, Plato;
you’ve read enough to be dangerous
a grandma once told me with sad irony
“You buy ‘em books, you buy ‘em books”

And never the twain shall meet.

What I have learned and can impart
from this side of the weathered bar?

Be polite, play nice, share your toys
Life is not always fair because it isn’t
Love and laugh – a lot and with gusto
Look both ways before you cross life

And never trust a vagabond with a GPS.