In This Place
Beer comes in a can
and they’ve got Old Crow
in the well and
everyone knows not to
play A17 when Knucklehead
Dave’s had more than four beers,
The pool table has quarters
laid down the rail
and no one jumps their
turn to slam that 8-ball,
unless that 8-ball happens
to be in the Number 2
stall in the ladies room.
The daytime bartender is
still here, picking up a double
because Brenda is either
sleeping through a day drunk
or back in the hospital
with another busted lip.
Ignore Pretty Ricky in the corner,
he’s not so pretty since
the stabbing in the alley
out back last month and
he’s even less friendly.
There isn’t karaoke, but Sheila
doesn’t care while she belts out
“freedom’s just another word
for nothing left to lose!”
like it was her own
personal national anthem.
You’re always welcome here
and if you’re short a dollar
for another beer, hell,
someone will grab a buck
out of the tip jar for you.
Karen Cline-Tardiff has been writing as long as she could hold a pen. Her chapbook Raccoon is available from Esperanza Publishing. Her works have appeared in several anthologies and journals, both online and in print. She stays up too late and snoozes her alarm past any reasonable time. She is founder and Editor-in-Chief of Gnashing Teeth Publishing. Find her at karenthepoet.com
