Corkscrew Lounge Poem by Speedy Hartman

another night
i sit here
what you would call
a regular

I have my place
at the dark end of the bar
where I aimlessly
nibble on stale peanuts

and leisurely nurse
a jack and coke
leaving a sizable wet spot
on the counter

I’m just one
of many
lost souls
looking for solitude

the bar is uniquely
wedged in a row of others
like a book on a shelf
or a letter in the alphabet

this one is no different
from all the rest
maybe a little darker
a little lonelier

not a place for lover’s
rather a place for sex
my companions here
are all desperate hearts

looking for like individuals
to share their pain
wanting nothing more
than to mask their sorrows

if they should find
someone to share the night
all the better
a momentary comfort

from my stool
i stare into the mirror
studying the lines
in my face

also in the reflection
is a neon sign
flashing out it’s name
Corkscrew Lounge

I’ve read this reverse
image so many times
it’s embedded in my brain
an alcohol soaked mind

my plight in life
has come full circle
like my father before me
and his before him

I’m just carrying on
A Family Tradition