David Glines Poet Ballad

Never Any Peace

you take the seat anyway,
hoping to be caught.
hoping to catch 
someone else as gullible.
you ask yourself if it's worth it
to wait until it wears off.
drink & inspiration 
never leave you any peace.
you ask yourself if it's worth it-
chasing shadows into gutters,
following well-worn trails 
to barroom bathrooms, 
flushing lines that 
were never written.
you wonder if you'll ever get anywhere
asking if anything is ever worth anything.
had you caught the chair as it was full,
had you caught the gutter's shadow,
had you found the few flushed lines,
you'd still be nothing more than
saddlemarks on some caged beast.
you smoke a cigarette outside, 
spitting in the gutter.
if the muse wants anything of you,
you decide she can come find you.
back inside, the jukebox just
clicks for a few seconds 
& a bottle lands on your table
& the waitress, jerking her thumb
just loud enough
over the next song says,
"this here's from that brunette at the bar."

♡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