I nod pleasantly,
Not absorbing anything -
The wash of pub chat.

Hard tales from hard lives,
Flowing freely; dredged up
As the beers sink down.

I am an island,
Sinking beneath a haze of
Alcohol - lost; alone.

So many pretty things -
So few opportunities
To consolidate!

An alcoholic
Re:lives his past endlessly,
But forgets the now.

Those maudlin souls weep
Into their beers and berate
Lives they have wasted.

In isolation
I observe; ignored, immune;
Free to contemplate.

Pub microcosms
Reflect society's woes
Better than the news.

Friends and foes alike
Are welcome at my table -
But they must behave!

The cute barmaids laugh
At my idiotic quips -
But none take me home!

****-jockey's posing
And idiots simpering -
Lonely souls fishing.

The popular seek
Fawns to flame their ego and cry
When bucks out grow them.

My own company
Can become stale, but at least
I'm not one of them!

Their contempt washes
Over me, but I'll survive -
Laughing all the way!

Do I appear as
These Others? Reliant on
Mates to make me cool?

I see the Cougar -
Self-proclaimed, but warranted -
Prowling for fresh meat.

The sounds of the World
Can break asunder against
My protective walls.

Much information,
Absorbed inadvertently
At the pub - Useless!