A Bartender's Soliloquy

Maybe once a proud man
But now a man no more
A dessicated specter
Wafts in through the door

I watch him take a creaking stool
The same one every night
He licks his cracked and broken lips
'Cause soon they'll feel all right

He's never been a talker
Not one to sip a beer
Nor one to pour his sorrows back
To anyone who hears

Ain't never heard him smalltalk
He cuts right to the chase
Gets a bottle to himself
And throws it at his face

There's no more thought of living
The last thing on his mind
He just wants his poison
It's all that's left behind

I know it looks like water
(It tastes so much like ice!)
To him this dirt-cheap vodka
Is the only thing that's right

He looks up at the bar clock
I think he's quenched his thirst
For now he's free from private hells
But a bottle can't drown hurt

And now he wants his keys back
Their limit can just be damned
There ain't no point in arguing
I drop them right into his hand

I watch him drift away again
In a haze of booze and stink
I'm not sure what I did was right
Though I just can't help but think...



The roads are dark and twisting
It's a long time yet 'till dawn
My heart says he'll crash and burn tonight
Then again, he was already gone