It’s all in the pour:
Short, long, and in between.
Folks alter their lives,
Attempting to figure out
How to make it work—
Safely engaging the bartender
In idle chit and wholesome chat,
Coaxing enough booze in the glass
To luxuriate the evening,
Or afternoon, should you prefer,
One shot after another—
Ancient ritual of survival.
Yes, from Fast Eddie,
To Slow Hand Julie,
Every patron has a favorite,
Waiting to serve them
Their drink of choice,
Long before a word’s spoken.
Bart Edelman’s poetry collections include Crossing the Hackensack, Under Damaris’ Dress, The Alphabet of Love, The Gentle Man, The Last Mojito, The Geographer’s Wife, Whistling to Trick the Wind, and This Body Is Never at Rest: New and Selected Poems 1993 – 2023. He has taught at Glendale College, where he edited Eclipse, a literary journal, and, most recently, in the MFA program at Antioch University, Los Angeles. His work has been anthologized in textbooks published by City Lights Books, Etruscan Press, Harcourt Brace, Longman, McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall, the University of Iowa Press, Wadsworth, and others. He lives in Pasadena, California.
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