Playing Checkers

Let me tell you a story about two friends and all the wisdom this story lends two men play checkers every day each hold in their mind memories that stay both are widowers living their final years they keep in their pain and all of their tears in old, crumpled hats and wrinkled overalls they'll stay and play checkers until the night falls in between moves they'll speak of their youth their marriage, their children, their living truth both are aging vets, both fought in a war though never speak of it, days of blood and gore they try to remember the days of their return then to wrestle with memories etched in that burn with wrinkled hands and swollen fingers, slightly bent and years of tobacco that carry a strong scent strong Cuban coffee is always there sipped from an old cup of earthenware the game is unimportant, it's the time they spend through the last years, before life comes to an end they play in a park with children around the noise they hear heals and feels profound some of the children will watch them play others only look then run by them away they're passing time in their timeless realm so, the years of loneliness will not overwhelm they walk with a shuffle as they finally leave as for tomorrow, with each breath, they will cleave 4/15/22 contest Form-N-Narrative...LIFE sponsor Constance La France