Barmaid Poem by Bijay Kant Dubey

Barmaid,
Is your life a peg of wine
To drink,
Is to pour wine into a tumbler
And to serve wine
Your life,
To keep the alcoholic beverages
Behind the bar
And handling the drunk people,
Hearing unwanted capers and babbling
And sometimes brawls taking place,
You as a witness marking them
All but silently,
People getting emotional
Or overexcited
Or quarrelling
Or vomiting?

They too are drunk
And you too are
As one dealing in wine
Cannot,
Which is but quite natural,
They coming and ordering for
And you bringing in,
Serving them
Sparkling liquor
Poured from a bottle
Into a tumbler
To their cheers,
But I know,
They will not cheer,
But will quarrel finally
As they are not peg-takers
But the bottle-emptier.
.