Bayer Page 2
cavalier about his appearance,
too parsimonious to hire
a barber, who husbands his wealth
as well as his wife.

After the portrait is finished,
you'll return to the streets
missing the warmth of fur, feast
until the pennies
are spent, and never apprehend
your own immortality.

Deanne Bayer sends us her poetry from Cleveland Heights, Ohio.