Saturday, July 30, 2016

Wobbly times number 198

                                                                             










Stammtisch at the Oasis


Clockwise 'round the short bar

sit half a dozen guys

on Friday night

four drinking beer

two drinking soda

the scene

becoming progressively chaotic

as more people file in

to the Oasis

to quench their cravings

after another

week of it

whatever their particular

IT is:

A homeless black, the rest white

a Berkeley Prof, an Intel millionaire

an unemployed printer

a retired librarian in his 70s and

a minor author--an ex ops-man

from that same library

a university library

in a university town

the next town down from the Oasis

where Steinbeck set a part of EAST OF EDEN

The conversation swirls above

the cacophony of

autre voix

It is nine in the evening

loose tongues

speak volumes of

forgettable prose about

sports, long distance driving routes--

U.S. 6 is the longest--movies, stars, races

and friends departed--most with liver failure

And of a sudden

it's time to turn in

inwards again

ever inwards

and bid good fellows fond adieu

as the week begins anew

and the wheel turns

on its screw

turning higher

ever higher

to be sure

but not by much