At the Blue Moon
Mike Pantano


I came in for lunch
and there sat Thomas the gray
holding court over empties,
shot glasses and beer bottles. 

It was just after 11:00 a.m.,
the place was filled with third
​shift ghosts like Thomas
drinking in the hushed light,  

telling stories of hardship,
alimony, estranged kids, ex-wives,
almost filled with remorse
for wasting so many years,
 
as though one day they will
punch a clock and float
into sunlight, throw away
the cigarettes, swear off booze,  

go straight home from work,
sweep out the garage,
fix the leaky faucet, replace
every darkened light bulb one by one.









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About the Author: Mike Pantano is a husband and father. He lives and works in Cincinnati, Ohio. His poems appeared or are forthcoming in Third Wednesday, San Pedro River Review, Poetry Americana and the Flint Hills Review.
GRAVEL