Kenyon Harris Poet Free verse

Check Please

Well, this is not what I expected 

I came to this smoky bar
Wednesday night 
Bourbon and sage on my palate

Jazz man testifying 
His hands play Carolina blues
And the sounds take my mind away

Until you
That is, until you walked in 
Looking like my best adventure and my worst decision 

Lavender lips revealing a smirk that says...
Damn 
What does it say?
Between this brown liquor and the curve of your thighs 
I almost forgot you had eyes

Oh yeah, I remember 
Your lips dipped in lavender say, 
Is Anyone sitting here?
I reply before I can think 
Because no one is sitting here 
And yes, I need it to be you

The stripping away of your jacket reveals
Black dress clinging to the roundness of your hips
Mocha skin
Glistening in the haze and this candlelight
Like a prompting from my ancestors
Leading me to you

Your curls like dark wisps of mahogany and onyx
High cheekbones and a frame sleek and generous at the same time
Eyes that connect with mine
And I don't know if it's serendipity or what I have in this cup
But I'm intoxicated and intrigued

We enter conversations about James Baldwin and Nina Simone
How I grew up on Wu-Tang, and you grew up on FuFu and collard greens
As you describe Powernomics and how industry should be nationalized
I'm lost in thought, curious about the taste of your inner thighs

What can I say?
I am intrigued
Aroused
And I want nothing more than to be enveloped by you
I want to feel the pulse of your heartbeat against my tongue
I want to experience the uncontrollable rising of your chest 
As I talk you through it and embrace you in aftercare

But in this moment I know it's better to be here
In this room, present 
With you
Engaged 
In conversation

You tell me about your philosophy
And how intimacy with you could bring me to my knees

Well, this is not what I expected
So, I call over to the bartender
Check please

♡Like0

Share Poem

---

Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Alison A Smith September 25, 2026 at 1:45 PM A wonderfully controlled free-verse seduction, this poem turns a smoky-bar encounter into a vivid, funny, and increasingly intimate conversation. The sensory details—bourbon, sage, lavender, jazz, candlelight—create a lush atmosphere, while the escalating desire is balanced by self-aware humour in the repeated “check please” payoff. I especially enjoyed how intellectual connection, cultural reference, attraction, and consent-minded tenderness coexist, giving the speaker’s fascination both heat and humanity.