by Susan Cameron
THIS WILL NOT END WELL
It's after work on Friday and I hurry down the highway
to meet my brand-new boyfriend in this upscale bar.
I've ordered Chivas neat, and I take a ringside seat,
and I watch the suit-and-tie boys show me who they are.
They hang around in packs, laughing loud, slapping backs,
and swearing like they're tough guys from the streets;
but their diction is precise and their fingernails are nice,
and they only fight ennui and balance sheets.
I listen to them chatter about stuff that doesn't matter,
comparing all the things they own, or want to --
their stereos and cars, their whiskeys and cigars,
the women that they want to do or will do.
They yap and yip and bark and my mood grows bleak and dark.
They're drowning out the chanteuse as she sings.
Their talk is loud and crude, and though the lighting is subdued,
I see the gleam of lots of wedding rings.
I think about their wives. Did they suspect their lives
would be spent home alone night after night?
Do Mercedes and Chanel make it less a living hell?
Does money make philandering all right?
Or am I completely wrong? Does wifey go along,
knowing but not caring that he cheats?
Is he a paycheck with a prick, just a wallet with a dick,
is she glad he comes on someone else's sheets?
I glance down at my watch and take another sip of Scotch.
The man I'm waiting for? He shows up late.
He's so sorry, and he misses me, he hugs me, and he kisses me,
and looks around and smiles and says, "Isn't this place great?"
Susan Cameron, copyright 1999
Oh, man, have I been there! So realistic and such great details.
ReplyDeleteI love your images, and I LOVE your ending. No wonder you and he did not wind up together, and no wonder I never spent any time in bars! Who would want to - and why would anyone think this is a good place to meet a life partner?!
ReplyDeleteI love your poetry. I thought you were a terrific essayist. But you are a wonderful poet, too. Actually, you are a fabulous writer--essay, poetry, short story--you can do it all.
ReplyDelete