Over the bar, or better yet…
“he’s over at the bar.” Over his limits;
watch & listen...but listen to what
you watch, when it turns to gossip.
Watch what you say, like time is timing
every word your tongue tries to portray,
or betray through your lips. While keeping
focus on what matters most, costs more
than it pays; still… pay attention!
Five to nine, working a nine to five,
just to work on the work of art I'm
becoming: just that guy— but not
your man; “it be like that sometimes…”
Hard to be a man everyone understands;
in a glass bottle, a version of us that leaks;
Emptying a tear-duct tank…then duct-taping
a mouth, so nothing real escapes.
Say less— feel more… or feel less,
and say nothing at all. Just a couple sad
drinkers, smiling too loud, yelling too much…
At the bar, over the bar...
never quite past it.
Apr 16
Apr 16, 2026 at 3:35 PM UTC
Over the bar, or better yet…
“he’s over at the bar.” Over his limits;
watch & listen...but listen to what
you watch, when it turns to gossip.
Watch what you say, like time is timing
every word your tongue tries to portray,
or betray through your lips. While keeping
focus on what matters most, costs more
than it pays; still… pay attention!
Five to nine, working a nine to five,
just to work on the work of art I'm
becoming: just that guy— but not
your man; “it be like that sometimes…”
Hard to be a man everyone understands;
in a glass bottle, a version of us that leaks;
Emptying a tear-duct tank…then duct-taping
a mouth, so nothing real escapes.
Say less— feel more… or feel less,
and say nothing at all. Just a couple sad
drinkers, smiling too loud, yelling too much…
At the bar, over the bar...
never quite past it.
A reflection on masculinity, perception, and emotional suppression—set in the bar where men perform strength while quietly unraveling. It explores being watched, misunderstood, and learning to filter pain in spaces that don’t allow it to be spoken.
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