Tomorrow, the
sun will set also
phew, it must
be early
says ol’ Pat
the bum
5:30 I say
without looking
up from Dostoevsky
he lets out one
of his
old man “I’ve
seen a lot” slow whistles
oh well, I’ve
been drinking all day
he says
his eyes are
opaque marbles
spent and
tired, but not yet deflated
I’ve seen
deflated eyes
and they are
awful
he asks how I’m
doing
at least half a
dozen times
he’s begging
for a conversation
so I give him
some words
banal
commonplace words
and he eats
them up
he doesn’t want
anything too serious
he’s not here
to soul search
but the bar is
too slow for him
to maintain
focus on anything
so he lifts out
of his stool
and slides
towards the failing light
of November
dusk
he is at the
peak of the day’s booze consumption
he actually
feels good
for a small
window of about
two hours
tonight he’ll
spend them
out on the
sidewalk
staring up at
the blank
dark gray urban
sky
amidst curbside
litter
as headlights
crawl up and down
his old
weathered face
and suddenly
the day
disappears
as it does
every day
leaving us all
in the dark
until morning
Ryan
Hardgrove is a gardener, a human, a liar, and a father. He continues
to write despite all the bullshit that stacks up around him. He lives
in Pittsburgh, PA with his common law wife and their son.
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