The People I Sing For

Everyone in this local bar has something in common, even if they don't realize it. Come in, have a drink, and see for yourself.

The people I sing for gather around

leather bound barstools with their mason jars

in hand. They eat handfuls of stale salty

peanuts fist by fist and drink foamy headed

cheap happy hour beer.

 

There’s the business man, sitting with his business friends

talking about the growth and decline of his shares.

He doesn’t know whether he will have a job next week,

so he listens to me sing about how beautiful the world is

as he sips on Jack and Coke.

 

I stand on my miniature stage, dressed in a curve hugging

scarlet dress, the same shade as the neon WELCOME sign

that hangs above the entrance. Though, I’m not the only one

dressed to impress, tonight. Sitting in a round booth with

smoke falling around her, I see the single woman,

who inhales and exhales nicotine as she eyes the single

and married men. She gives off a come-hither vibe in

her leopard print dress, as she sips her Appletini, convincing

herself that she can go home with any man in this place.

She didn’t come here to look for a husband so she listens

to me sing about how blissful love is.

 

The blue-collar worker reaches for his longneck bottle,

callouses on his hands. He wears a baseball cap, showing

off his team pride. He roots for the underdog and they root

right back for him. The long work hours and manual

labor begins to take a toll on him. He looks at the

business man and glares. He looks at the single

woman and thinks maybe he will have a chance.

He bobs his head along with the music as I

sing a Bruce Springsteen song.

 

The people I sing for listen to me; mouths full of liquor

and hearts full of dreams. They clap for me

and I soak it in, pretending I am performing

at the Grammy’s. We need each other on these

starry nights. The friendly fast serving bartender rings

his bell for last calls.

Reviews

[Mauricio Montoya]

This brought back memories of my bar hoping day where everybody knew my name, lol
Excellent write.

[Lonnie Paul Johnson]

I liked the poem, its read like a story, very good!!