The Old Men of Elba

by Robert Halleck

They sit, two to four usually, on an iron bench

in front of the café fronting the harbor shrouded

with the morning grey. They are old men

now wearing the rough clothes: thick, dark pants,

brimmed caps, wool socks, and heavy boots that kept\

flesh from sun, rain, and harm when sea life

was mean and bonita and gilthead were plentiful.

They are survivors of a world that offered few

rewards other than family, children, and friends.

They argue politics from rolled newspapers lying

on laps weighted down by coffee and ashtrays.

Nothing is needed until noon when conversation

will shift to lunch, a nap, and morning tourist

observations. There is a lingering sadness of friends

no longer there to smell the sour mud and peace

as time makes room for nothing to happen.

BIO: Robert Halleck lives and works in Del Mar California. Two of his poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Recent poems have appeared or will appear in The North Dakota Quarterly, The Lothlorien Poetry Journal, and The Milton Review.