Mr. Hankston

He wore a beige hat
With green lace around the brim.
He had HUGE moon eyes,
Light-seeking eyes, that pulled
You in deep.
His wife left him for
A woman called Polly.
Polly wore high heels with
Short skirts and Tight shirts,
But, Polly was Mr. Hankston's
Favorite daydream.
And, since this was the case,
Polly was okay for his wife,
He approved.

Mr. Hankston stared squarely
At nothing almost daily,
That was his job--
Professional starer.
How someone lands a job
Like this, I do not know.
No one knew.
But, he sat there day after day
Staring at nothing.
Making nothing move
With those HUGE moon eyes,
Those light-seeking eyes of his.

Mr. Hankston

He never changed shirts--
Always the same charcoal gray
Long-sleeved cotton turtleneck.
"All-season wear,"
He dubbed it. It was his
favorite article of clothing.
Polly bought it for his wife,
Who in turn gave it to him.
He remembers their once
Forgotten love, beaded with compulsory--
The kind of love that
Lived on even when lovers
Were no longer around.

A photographer wanted to
Take Mr. Hankston's picture,
Said it was going in
"The Daily Bit," and all he had
To do was "sit and stare."
To this, Mr. Hankston said,
"Well, I can do that."
And that, he did.