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im sitting alone
drinking the usual
watching three beautiful barmaids
take my order
and say no words to me

tonight
the place stinks
of smoke
and peculiar men -

to my right
a man in his early 50s
who works on the oil rigs
in nigeria
he just told me a story
that one time
when he completed a long hard day of work
his security were escorting him
and the other international employees
back to the hotel
and along the way
the mini bus came under attack
from armed militant rebels
and one of the shots fired
went through the window
and landed in the head
of his egyptian co-worker
that was sitting in front of him
he described how the skull erupted
inside that minibus
and since that happened
he had not gone a day
without drink

to my left
a man of equal age
just arrived
on the west coast
this morning
he sits there with his arm
in a bloody bandage
says that he was sat at a restaurant
stroking a wild dog
that was under the table
for around 45 minutes
and all at once
the dog snapped
and ripped some flesh
out of his arm
he was ordered by the doctor
to return to england
first thing in the morning
for a rabies shot

in the corner
there is a group of
suspicious looking black men
sitting around a table
pretending to watch the football
but discussing something important
in hushed voices

on the end of the bar
a mature local woman
with big
beautiful
hanging breasts
is sitting with a tray
of bananas
hoping for a late night sell
or perhaps
a man to fill her pockets
and take her away
to babylon

the albino
is standing
solemnly
next to his paintings
of naked women
in suggestive
positions
maybe he wont
eat bread tonight

no one else
is worth noting
some of the other tables
are empty
but others
are occupied

by bumsters

and rastas

and prostitutes

and sugar daddies

and perverts

nothing special here tonight
it is only the silence
of the place
that made this
worth writing

© tobiaskinti