Come on In!

he was my guru.
he was a big man, bearded, self-assured.
he sat in one chair.
I sat in another.
we had been up together many days
and nights.

there had been an hour's heavy
silence.
then he leaned forward slightly
and whispered,
"you don't have to worry about
worms when you die, Chinaski,
worms don't infest dead
bodies, it's a fairy tale."

"that's good to know," I
said.

then we fell into another
hour's heavy
silence.