Last Night Poem by Kevin Kiely

O last night
forget it
it happened in the future past tense

did the corks fly above the fish on fish-shaped plates
and hit the rafters? Whose argument
instilled the wisdom of ages,
we chewed the fat, gristle
& pickled cucumbers
women crossed their legs, men
and women preened like monarchs

waitress picked a spoon from the floor
switched off The Moorings Bar
sign: seascape became coastlines
on a planet inspected
in momentary silence

Everyone out-stared the parade
of faded glory at the long table,
specials on the blackboard: ‘To-night's Offerings'
sponged through in a chalky slash

revelry keeps the ache away
soft as oysters, who has
drunk in the series of themselves
the argument
the same argument for those
who want matters discussed
omitted by consent or conspiracy

dividing those who stay from those who leave
closeness in the combat of burnished faces
we crave a blaze for pride or protective gloom
banal talk fired to explode, plodding conversation
the elongation of laughter
fabulous arabesques
poured seasalt, crushed garlic

ever on, clasp joy beyond the shadows
along the edges of furniture
ghosts, events gone by, present failures

who will speak next? The fork of lightning
pronging the sea against the land
sleepless swallows cut the air outside