Charles Rammelkamp

THE ELDER

Nancy could have kicked herself for her indiscretion,
mentioning to her boyfriend Sonny
the old guy at the bank, Mister Hughes,
one of the regular Tuesday customers,
inviting her out to lunch last week.

It had been an innocent date,
Mister Hughes old as her grandfather,
a delightful meal in a posh restaurant
she’d never have been able
to afford on her own.

"We can use this to our advantage,"
Sonny said, eyeballs like cherries
rolling in a slot machine
to a sensational jackpot.
"A lonely old guy
sniffing after the young stuff."

"It’s not like that!" Nancy protested.
"He’s just a sweet old man.
Leave him alone, Sonny!”

"Riiiiight," Sonny replied,
the calculations still spinning in his eyes.


Charles reads "The Elder":



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Charles confesses: "Having reached the age of 67, I am more acutely aware of elder abuse and the scams that are played on old folks worried about their financial security, and the loneliness that grows on them as they watch their contemporaries die one by one, their vulnerability. Our vulnerability."

CHARLES RAMMELKAMP is Prose Editor for BrickHouse Books in Baltimore and Reviews Editor for The Adirondack Review. A chapbook of poems, Jack Tar’s Lady Parts, is available from Main Street Rag Publishing. Another poetry chapbook, Me and Sal Paradise, was recently published by FutureCycle Press. An e-chapbook has also recently been published online Time Is on My Side (yes it is). Another chapbook, Mortal Coil, is forthcoming from Clare Songbirds Publishing.