Smell of cigarettes,

Stale beer stains,

Threadbare carpet,

Old men,

Hunched over mahogany,

Varnish long faded,

Years of harsh use,

Stained glass,

Discolored by smokey haze,

Dirty ashtrays,

Artwork for the nicotine addicted,

Spilled whiskey,

Tears,

Young men,

Worn beyond their years,

Chasing elder dreams,

Following their path,

Door to stool and back,

Work feeds addiction,

Paycheck to paycheck,

All to payoff the devil,

Memories of yesterday,

Expunged by today,

Innocuous when numb,

Hey bartender…

Make it a double!

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~