At dusk after a hard day’s work I walked to the closest packie in Hudson.
There wasn’t a car in the parking lot.
The bells of a nearby church rang five times.
Five O’Clock.
They can’t have close at 5
But it was a Monday
Then I spotted a lit OPEN sign.
I purchased a pint of Vodka
And returned to Warren Street.
No one was the Sidewalk.
Not even a dog.
I muttered about squares,
However this life has taken a toll
On the flesh and soul.
I drank in the backyard.
Vodka and tonic.
Toasting the past and the future
Along with the rest of us:
The wounded, the fallen, and the forgotten.
Here’s to us all.