Mickey Rooney

Once upon a time
Mickey Rooney
was a young star
who danced sang
and moved like silver’s glint
on the silver screen
He drank a lot
and gambled more
won a lot
lost more
married a lot
divorced a lot
while looking for happily
ever after

Once upon a time
Mickey Rooney got old
and rarely strung together
two good decisions in a row
once he was no longer
young and moving that way
Played bad roles
in bad shows
Played bad characters
But somehow figured it out and
came back and
eventually
didn’t die badly

Maybe even got
a happily ever after
out of it

At the end of my parents’ street
lives a guy who somehow owns
a Rolls-Royce
which once belonged
to Ann Miller
who starred with Mickey Rooney
on Broadway

I hope Mickey Rooney
rode in that car
once upon a time

I think I’m going to
walk over there
one of these days
and touch it
because these days it’s hard
to find even a remote touch
of that old
silver screen
once upon a time
happily ever after
anywhere