I spoke without
thinking,
unintentionally
exposing
one of my
only secrets
in this
place.

He grinned,
the way only
old men who
have seen
too much
of the bad in
this world
are able
to do.

The deep lines
of age in his
pocked scared
face all grew
deeper
as his grin
turned
into a smile.

"Poetry"
he said.
Then took a
moment
as he let
the taste of the
word roll around
his mouth and between
his broken  and missing
teeth.

'That's different'
,he said
before forgetting
what it was
he was thinking of.

Then he asked me for a
cigarette.

To which I informed
him that I didn't smoke,
for the 4th time
that day.