Hawaiian Shirts In The Electric Chair by Scott Laudati - HTML preview

my friend Tom always understood me,

even at the times

when I scared

myself.

I was always screaming for an audience

up on a guitar amp

and then I’d drink too much

and quiet down from the pills.

Tom just sat there smiling

sipping a dark beer

enjoying it,

watching me go sweaty and crazy,

knowing that we’d both end up at the same place.

and that’s what I learned after my youth passed me by.

I wanted to be great, but never proved it

with more than words,

and by 25 the only thing I was running

on was caffeine.

Tom wanted to be the best average person he could be

and always had been

since the day I’d met him.

and as much as I hate people

who have figured out how to be happy,

Tom is one

that I think deserves it