By Bob MacKenzie
it begins with a room
pale red and cool blue light
scattered silhouettes at tables
soft saxotones wafting
through cigarette smoke
and casual conversation
at the bar a splash of light
seems meant to expose
the woman who waits
slowly sips her drink
waits for something
waits for someone
waits deep in a shadow
no light can erase
sorrow bends the woman
leans her forward
slumped with elbows
abject on the bar
slow sipping her drink
on the woman’s right cheek
a tear draws a damp line
downward echoed by sax
lines cutting the smoke
underlining her blue mood
another tear slides
another tear and another
the woman knows nothing
will happen now at this bar
the woman knows nobody
will come to meet her here
the woman knows nobody
knows her sorrow
what she has lost
the music stops
the woman stands
a quick perhaps furtive
glance at near human
silhouettes in the smoke
walks slowly to the door
lets in the sunshine
only for a moment
there is only the sax
again caressing the air
and the sad silhouettes
under red and blue lights
the woman is gone
Bob MacKenzie’s poetry has been published across North America and as far away as Australia and India in publications that include The Literary Review of Canada, The Dalhousie Review, Windsor Review, and Ball State University Forum. He’s published thirteen volumes of poetry and prose-fiction and his work has been featured in numerous anthologies. He’s received a number of awards for his writing including an Ontario Arts Council grant for literature and a Canada Council Grant for performance. Withe performance ensemble Poem de Terre, Bob has performed his poetry spoken and sung live with original music and released six albums. He can be found online on his personal Facebook or on his professional page, as well as on Amazon.
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