No Surprise At The Red Eagle Cocktail Lounge Poem by Raj Dronamraju

Discounted drinks poured into weathered mouths
Weathered faces at the Red Eagle Cocktail Lounge
You can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting a Realtor or some other type of salesperson

Smoking is prohibited
But its tangible presence is still felt
Invisible smoke billows outwards from stained yellow souls in 1970's fever dreams of unclean settings, nicotine, and partying to live

Get rich or die face down in a plate of steak and mushrooms and a bloody Mary
Here is a Manhattan with ice dirtily clinking against the glass
Scratch that lottery ticket and hold greasy fingers to your wide lapels

3: 00 PM vanished as if it never existed
As if time was checked like coats at restaurants in the 1950's
And won't be given back until you leave