Hardboiled
by Antonio Rocco S. (Rocco Valentini)
What the history of the world teaches Is that universal brotherhood is not real It is the philosophy the farmer preaches To the ox who plows his fields. Ignore the conventions and taboos, Behind every smile there's teeth. Don't let them bare down on you, Be not the prey but the predator who eats. As a man in a battered felt watches the cannibals, He feels an unsubtle rage— Toward men he sees as nothing but animals, Domesticated beasts who won't leave their cage. Traversing rain-soaked alleys in a trench coat, A sense of foreboding lingers— A feeling his face cannot emote He is determined still to point the finger. He takes his reality neat like his whiskey And his speech unfiltered like his cigars. He knows taking anything on the rocks is risky And that even a white lie can leave a nasty scar. There can be no prohibition of truth Illusion has no place at a speakeasy's table. A martini cannot be made without vermouth And bottles must never be left without labels. He knows that life is not roulette No fortune is won in a game of craps. Greatness is not a sum paid for a bet; Every success story has a map. He cannot pray for a revelation Nor for a dame to fall into his lap. He must rise to meet expectations And earn that feather in his cap. Between a suit vest and a Kevlar vest Hangs a pair of suspenders with a holster. A private detective moves at the behest Of his own judgment, not that of pollsters. Although the system is pathologic He measures the world by rise over run Understanding that ethics are ruled by logic While the law is just an opinion backed by a gun.