He leans back in a rusting fold out chair,
Resting his eyes from the burn of yellow light,
Illuminating the cracked concrete floor.
He places a glowing cigarette between his lips,
Brushing his stained hands against the scruff of his beard.
He exhales,
And white puffs of smoke float out of his lungs,
Into the darkness of the night.
Swarms of ants circle like a storm around sticky spilt beer on the ground.
The panels across the walls shake,
As Jimmy Buffet’s voice blares from the radio,
An echoing voice inside his head.
The green light emitted from the radio reads 4:09 am,
Every inhale tastes like the irresistible stench of gasoline,
Destructive, yet consuming.
The fridge buzzes like white noise,
Blending into the sound of chirping crickets and rain.
The sticky summer air wraps itself around his skin.
A glass rests on the counter, filled to the brim.
The bubbles dance, tempting him.

*****

how would you like it

the bartender
sighs the lord’s name in vain
understood the slurred wittiness

wobble onto stool
****** over
joining the rest of the line

sweet

the sound
system jests that one song
about a breakup
puke on the sofa next to your carpet

it’s yellow
swayed hips
shoulders give way

diluted In and Out closed
turn over

moist

to the Devil’s dance floor
where a pretty ugly Frenchie took your wrist
foot strikes a patch of ice
popped cherry on a yellow wheel stop

get up dizzy
scrape on forearm
the impassionate spring fever

wrapped around neck
constrains body against

*****

hands stroked rock hard back

she asks if she could have a stick

reached into baggies
pulled out a yellow
she takes halo
you took halo

got into the convertible

a silent triumph when you insert your key

twist


---
by Aleksander Mielnikow (Alek the Poet)

pour
clink
down
repeat.

maybe
this time
you can take
the heat.

actually,
probably not,
prepare for
defeat.

I reach for the beer glass

but the glass isn't much.

I reach the paper

but the parchment has gone stale

and crumbled


I reach for the woman

for thigh

for small of the back,

but she has taken

into unshaven arms

of sleep

and snores


I Reach for the pill

but someone's hid the bottle.

Whiskey makes me sweat

great floods of violence,

sharp words with dagger tongues.

Beer boils yearning

into my blood.


So I reach

for the words

but they too

have dried, withered,

and no longer make sense.

Sitting there all by yourself
With too much time to think
Emotions pouring over you
That make you want to drink
Drown out all these feelings now
Then pay for it tomorrow
Wondering just how much you'll need
To drown out all this sorrow
I'll just have a beer or 2
Enough to ease my mind
There's nothing wrong with a couple drinks
To help someone unwind
Until that beer, turns into 10
And you don't know, where you are
Then you think, you're invincible
And you climb into your car
You think that, you're doing great
But you're all over the road
And as, you're being hauled off to jail
You'll wish you weren't so bold
Cause when you wake up, behind those bars
And find out, just what you did
You'll realize, all those drinks you had
Took the life, of someones kid
And all the sorrow, and guilt you feel
Won't change, what you have done
Your selfishness, became a bullet
And alcohol, the gun
Now your life, is ruined forever
And you'll have, plenty of time to think
What if I, just talked to someone
Instead of deciding, to drink?

I hear you screaming,
   “THIS IS POISON!”

But you’re still drinking
    From the bottle.

Do I get another?
The game's still on t.v.
It's getting on for 10 p.m.
I've been sitting here since 3

My wife said I should call her
But, my phone is in the car
The car is in my driveway
And I am at the bar

I stopped in for a minute
7 hours now have passed
I've had 11 beers, 5 shots
And man, I think I'm gassed

I think I left my keys as well
With my phone inside the car
I think that I should call my wife
And tell her that I'm at the bar

I only live three blocks away
I went walking with the dog
I stopped in just to grab one beer
******* where is my dog?

I'll order up just one more shot
Okay, two beers as well
Where the hell'd I leave the dog?
Is that the last call bell?

I'm just above the sea,
of shy jewels are my dreams,
I catch a glimmer blue,
should I care if it was true?
I'm waiting for the moon,
of big waves are my dreams,
I steal a purple blue,
should I believe if there's a clue?
but roses **** my heart, my beauty and my mind,
I'm bleeding purple blue though skies are shy and cry for you,
I'm heading towards the moon,
with diamond on my dreams and silver blue,
I'm all at sea, now drinking in my dreams and wait forever blue,
one day I'll be with you.

(My book 'The Allure Of Time' is now available for purchase on amazon).