Sermon on the Stool

bar vignette

He slid between me

And Smiley Joe at Kelly’s

One raggedy pool table

No air conditioning

But we like this bar

Old School Classic

But the hipsters are pushing

Hard these days

And the guy says

To Smiley Joe

That he doesn’t drink

No more

That club soda and cola

Will have to do

That

This bar has been harder to shake

Than was the Vodka

Than was the drugs

And that this bar

Is his church

Author's Note

photograph from the author's collection

Reviews

[Matching Socks]

Great write Diego.

I've learned some of the best, and some of the hardest lessons of life in a bar.
Had some of best times and worst. Made friends. Lost friends. It's not surprising that this would be a place to go for a moment of reflection. Really enjoyed the peaceful easy feeling of this one.

[Tree]

Thank you for checking this one out, Ance. I have found many poems in these halls of solitude, friendships, and refuge...

[Matching Socks]

Cheers to that. :)

[Beccy]

There is safety and security in familiarity and this seems writ large to me in this really fine piece of writing. There is a saying on this side of the pond, 'you can take the girl out of Essex, but you can't take Essex out of the girl.' It's origin is a sarcastic comment made some decades ago by a clever London stand up comedian, but it's implication is far wider reaching.

Beccy.

[Tree]

Thanks you for the comment, Beccy. I like hearing anecdotes from other parts of the world, it's one thing to visit or read about a place, but another to be allowed into an experience.
I look forward to exploring your writing.


Diego

[Corset]

amazing where one finds the meaning of God (love) it can be and come in many shapes and sizes, can we find love in a glass, in a bottle, in a bar, in a shoe, in a song, in a poem, ones "church" is really just what one believes in isn't it? one's god is what they have faith in I think, what is a church? what differentiates the difference between faiths, love is ...never having to burn down a church.

[Michael Atherton]

This is very inspiring. It makes me want to write more of my own memories, rather than submitting the first-pancake smatterings that I am prone to. Thanks for continuously infecting me (and, hopefully, this community) with your creative poems and vignettes!

[Frieda P]

Very cool Diego, reminds of the bar in Cheers...sometimes it's harder to give up old familiar faces and feeling, places than old habits. I love that you write about everyday living but always give it your own unique twist....

[Horizon K.]

Kortas says "vignette"... I want to steal that word ... This brings back memories actually, of the Diego Paz of last year, this style you are so tremendous at-- capturing moments-- and in a single scene, you paint a vivid picture of a person, how this soul in your lens, lives-- unique, yet this piece of him can be found in everyone else.

This just has a cool vibe too, and in the second half of the poem, when you break into what he says to Smiley Joe, there is a slight shift of rhythm, a transition into a cadence that feels as if this church-goer decided there, to speak from the poem-- so I can hear his voice, get to know him...

And love, those final two lines... You leave me wondering, considering, what place each person, and where I... make my church...

[Tree]

I feel vindicated that you picked up on that shift in cadence, Hk. I knew how I wanted it to sound but sometimes we have a tough time (at least I do) translating that onto the page, especially,when one is trying to capture the voice and tone of someone else, or someone with a distinct, regional voice... I know there's an easier way of doing this and I have ruined a good many poems trying to be "too" authentic, but I know no other way.

Thanks for the read, HK.

[Horizon K.]

All you have to do, is read this beautiful poem aloud or aloud, in the mind, spend a little time... The transition between the voice of the poet, and the voice of this other, channelled... becomes apparent...

[Horizon K.]

WC is tripping out... Posted the same comment like 7 times...
Anyway... You, ruin a poem? Impossible. Everything, you post here is exquisite.

[Emily B]

amen from the corner table pew!

[h d e rushin]

I'm done with it, I mean the bar scene. I tried it a few months ago with old friends in town and all the
women characters personified abstract qualities.(?) But this is a story about ambiance not virtue
or conformity. That we find a place, warm in the winter, cool when the air conditioning works
in summer ,that we attend like church. That safe place (minus the hipsters) where the conflicts
between right and wrong, good and evil from which some moral lesson may be drawn always saves a
willing stool for our patronage. You write this with confidence dear brother. With boldness,
like a person who argues hypothetical cases for practice. "How about the Lakers, Koby, his knee's,
his life, his game, his abstract will"?.

You and Emily Burns know patience. Something I am learning.
well done,
dana

[Tree]

Don't get me started. I could argue Lakers all day. Like, LBJ in a Laker uniform? Only, had they retained Phil.

"And Practice? You. Talking about, Practice? ––– Practice? ..."

––– A. Iverson

[W.k.kortas]

As far as the hipsters go, I say aim right between the porkpie hat and the non-prescription lenses. This is, as you present it, a wonderful little vignette, the short lines giving the piece the right snapshot feel. The constancy of the line lengths and the just-so use of repetition are nice touches. Fine, fine bit of storytelling.

[Tree]

maybe a shot square into one of those obscure micro brewed beers they're holding, the one they drink not because of taste but because, they like the cool / design on the label.

Thanks for stopping by, kort