too long
i guess
i've hunked down over the wood of
bars looking for music

i don't know what made me feel that people of
soul might be more in bars than
elsewere

that cost me
many years of barren
study

it was when i began finding more interesting things
in the grains of wood
than in the people

that i got what i needed to drink
and took it to a room
and closed the door

men who drink in rooms alone are less
afraid than men who drink
together

it's like dying alone
cheaper by the ounce
and a better high
than any Western movie.