The Potential Barfighter (A Tribute to Bukowski)

you can’t dance at the bar anymore

without some entitled prick crossing a line

yours

he whispers in your ear “u need to loose sum wait bud”

and you say “thanks for the memo”

he fucks off to the bathroom

and you stop your groove

wondering just how many more insults you can take

before being thrown in the back of a pig’s wagon

for assault and battery

“I’d go back to Rikers just to make a fuckin point”

you heard once, on some comedy hour

but now the prospect is a romantic one

pass near the fuck as he leaves the restroom

and stare him down like a beast

eyes vacant like Medusa’s prey

and hope to some dark lord

he throws the first punch

but just like your ego

his bravery is of a lesser man

a tale of two frustrated drunks

and a potential barfighter