Death is one step away

the year after
Shorty & Ed
found gold there
in 1904
the town of Rhyolite
was establishd

by 1908
its popultion
was 10000

in 1910
the mines faild

in 1920
its population
was 20

in 2010
I walkd
its dirt roads

the fragment
of a bank
had the feel
of a Greek ruin

what I was told
was the whorehouse
stood breathless

at the cemetery
I left a penny
for the dead
then departd
with friends
for a big city

we laughd
over salads
then lookd
both ways
before
crossing
the street