THE PERFECT PINT By Gregg Norman

Below a trap door behind a scarred bar

steep steps descend in darkness

where the Guv’nor draws the perfect pint

of his brewed-on-site Guiness.

He ascends as a spirit rising

from a yeasty grave, the pint

securely held in his beefy mitt.

I can smell the malty, hoppy bitterness.

There is a slow swirled mouthfeel

of silk and velvet

from the cocoa-dark mahogany

elixir in my glass.

Gregg Norman lives and writes in a lakeside cottage in Manitoba, Canada, with his wife and a small dog who runs the joint. His poetry has been placed in journals and literary magazines in Canada, USA, UK, Australia, Europe, and India. He is a 2024 Best of the Net nominee.