Old Folks Sitting Around

Everyone knows the old folks

who let you play round the town

without a care in the world!

for who you are—splatter!—

good as the world—matter!—

and good as the one

we all love alone

—free as a bird!

My food and my coffee

blow just alright

     in the evenin

when I’m sittin with

the old folks

on our wooden porch

somewhere

down south.

OLD FOLKS!

LET US PLAY!

hoot and holler

of democracy

rains down through

the twilight

of our very own parade.

—everyone knows the old folks

got something

to say—

always.

WE JUST WANT

COFFEE, DINNER, 

& SOME TIME TO PLAY

everyone is sleeping uneasy

these days, 

these days, 

these days.

Frederick Schardt is a writer and poet from North Carolina. He studied Comparative Literature and Philosophy at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and now lives in Los Angeles. His work has appeared in Maudlin House, Nelligan Review, and Cathexis Northwest Press.