In a Café

It is a sunny, autumn afternoon,
Approaching the time when the sun paints the day
Faint shades of amber and gold.
The spouses’ shadows stretch on the faded wallpaper,
Darkness of the night is an impending doom
But it is seemingly present in their hearts.

She sits and stares, back pressed against the mahogany booth,
Still dressed in her Sunday Best,
Watching the afternoon crowds trickle out to return home.
The morning cocktail server greets his evening relief,
Rubbing away the condensation of the watered-down drinks
From the tacky bar that knows the weight of 
Tears, sweat, and blood.

She is particularly aware 
Of the itch of her corset beneath her fanciful blouse.
The feathers on her hat 
Generate a soft and blurry outline in her vision.
She watches the feathers dance in the draft and
The lofty ceilings allow the sun to cast light and warmth on her skin.
She is completely unaware of this.

The tip of her nose is hardly rosy on her colorless face.
Impossible to comprehend, her cheerless gaze holds mystery.
Most would assume that with the changing of the seasons,
The dust and pollen have irritated her system, causing this blush irritation.
But the fact is, she has been sobbing relentlessly,
Only comforted by the vast goblet,
Filled with a chartreuse solvent that will eventually
Drain the pain of her brain.

Absinthe: A libation for shattered hearts
Silence on repeat,
The only sounds that resound her gray cognizance
Are the drip-drip-drip of the faucet
A stream of suffering
The dam: another sip from the goblet

She does not know how, when, or why she will be returning home.
She knows very little.
But suddenly, she can hear the chirrups and coos of the sparrows on the patio,
Above the roars and honks of the buses on the street outside,
Over the clitter-clanking of silverware being polished in preparation for the evening rush,
Beyond the slurp of her husband’s fourth whiskey sour,
And just as the birds are done their song,
The pianist enters through the great glass door and the grand piano erupts,
A tune from a time before she knew the comfort of absinthe.