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I loved to make them

Laugh

This older man

John

And a lady whose name I

Don't remember

From the moment I stepped

Into the big green bus that

Parked once a week

In the lot near

Our house

And squeezed my gangly

Teen-aged frame

Down the narrow aisle

Wisecracking

Pulling a joke book from the

Slanted shelf

And laughing for hours at the

Stupid

Inane

They knew where my young

Literary interests idled

And often brought new volumes

Hand-picked

I almost hated it when

Others

Came aboard and

Stole their attention

But I would help

Since I knew topics and titles

Sometimes better than

They

And after this many years

I'm sure

They're both gone

They've gathered the

Keys

As I've slid my stack from the

Narrow desk

Their faces

Voices

Laughter

I can never return