Lost and Found

[edsiejka]

Lost and Found
by Edmund Siejka

It was late
He needed a drink
Sitting in an empty bar
He let the familiar smell
Of cold grease and stale beer
Wrap him in its comfortable embrace.

On the opposite wall
He stared at his reflection in the mirror
Trying to ignore
The lines
And deep furrows in his face
He couldn’t blame anyone for them
Only himself.

Well, well, how we doing Bobby? The barkeep asked
Long time no see. What’s new in the doorman business?
He replied, I open a door and I get tipped
I carry a package and I get tipped
That’s what’s doing
So, skip the small talk Tommy
Give me a Dewar’s and I’ll leave you a tip.

His drank it neat.

That’s some fancy apartment building you work at Bobby.
Tommy, it’s all a young crowd
They got the money and all the breaks
Today, it’s all about the texting and iPhones
They walk through the lobby
In their own world
Nothing else matters to them.

Bobby, want another?”
Guess so. Seeing that I’m sitting here with an empty glass.
Still counseling vets are you?
When I’m called. You see Tommy
Most of the problems these vets
Have is money, jobs and family
I call them the holy three
And we never did right by them
Especially the Viet Nam vets.
Holy three? I like that Bobby. Got it from a book?
No, it’s all from me. You don’t have to
Have book learning to help people.

Finishing his drink
He left
Outside, the night air felt good
In the quiet of the City
He realized that what he really wanted
Was to be left alone.