poem of the day 01.10.14

i’m going to the bar

i’m going to the bar

that’s what i told the eighteen year old clerk

when she asked me what i’m doing tonight

so now i have to go

for her

for you too

i’m going to the bar

to drink beer and eat pretzels and play

loud rock and roll music

at a volume i can’t play at home

i’m going to the bar

for led zeppelin and jim morrison and mick jaggar

so that the bartender can shake my hand

and wish me a happy new year

so that i can wish him one too

i’m going to drink pints of budweiser and love them

i might have a shot or two

i’m going to the bar

to forget about poetry and novels and books i haven’t read

to forget about work and late trains

to forget about bills and jobs

and cancer and death

at least for a little while

i’m going to the bar

to sit there and watch the evening news on mute

and not care what’s happening in syria or iraq or south sudan

and not care about whiney americans bitching about the winter cold

and not care about republicans versus democrats

and this celebrity state that we’ve been paralyzed in

since the dawn of the internet age

i’m going to the bar

to get a little drunk and have a good time

to answer jeopardy questions and not care if i’m right or wrong

i’m going to bitch to the bartender about baseball

about the super bowl about the nets and the knicks

about a-rod and mike piazza getting the shaft from the hall of fame

and then tip him big for lending me his ear

i’m going to let the racists tell me their racist jokes

and not say a word

i’m not correcting a goddamned soul tonight

i’m just going to order another beer

and let the dim lights and the warmth of this place envelope me

thank the stars that i’m alive for a change

and at the bar.