Ace Boggess
“So, Are You Here For the Saloon
or the Salvation?”
-Theron Trout
I want to say saloon.
Between two harbors this one fits me best,
cradles me in cupped hands of a screwdriver.
Instead, looking down, I see coffee.
I used to sit here bending my throat with Jack.
Past tense. Now,
my body a burned temple,
I’m wondering if I’ve been wrong,
if the god reaches me here,
leans down to whisper words
of encouragement, love & poetry.
The bartender casts somber steps,
ministering to her clientele.
I ask, “Is it possible
to be a spiritless man in a spiritual place?”
She says nothing, smiles— serene—
then wipes dirt from the counter with her rag.
I lift my mug, sip hot coffee,
swallow like the miracle of wine.
