So, I had a poetry challenge to write an odd ode. Also, my favorite local dive bar just closed. *insert sad face here* So, I wrote and "odd ode" to it. I think it's aight, at least. Judge for yourself.
An Ode To The Jackpot
you banned me at least once
but i came back and you let me through your doors
i loved you more for it
we danced to 80s music on your grimy floor,
our feet slipping on spilled beer.
death masks above your booths on blood red walls -
were you tryijng to tell us something about life?
or about frequenting dive bars and claiming to be oh
so cool?
that posturing and posing, spouting bs that sounded pretty
killed a bit of our souls.
oh no, that couldn't be what you meant,
not you,
with your pithy and cerebral graffiti mixed in
between the "i love kevin type" scribblings on the bathroom walls.
not you, with your hipster bartenders and djs.
not you, with your trendy beer selection.
or were you just pandering to your crowd?
now, after your soon-to-be legendary last hurrah,
where various local celebrities rubbed elbows
with your average bearded, shaggy-haired hipster,
where people tore the death masks off those deep red walls,
where you ran out of beer,
you've gone down like the titanic
the dj spinning while the ship sank.
i spent my twenties in you hallowed halls,
wasting my days in a haze,
drinking and drugging,
loving and fucking,
exchanging blog urls and facebook addys,
writing poetry on napkins that the next day i reread and threw in the trash
(I've never been good at drunken poetry, despite stereotypes).
I've fallen in and out of love behind your doors,
wrecked and mended my most important friendships,
made mistakes and opened old wounds,
closed chapters in my life and wrote new ones,
you've seen me through a decade,
became a part of the fabric of my life,
and i loved every dirty, dingy inch of you,
which i already pine for.
copyright 2010 Katherine Andrews
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