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A BEAUTIFUL OR A BITTER BONUS

Cigarette

and cigar smoke.

The bloke behind the bar,

far away,

Wallowing in the warmth

of his particular dreams.

His schemes

and his personal aspirations.

The coke is liquid

in this fluid , futile fantasy.

It's free .

No way out for some.

See , it's begun.

Fun in small doses.

Spouse and partners

left behind

to find their own fulfillment;

Their contentment,

or the achievement of their individual goals ,

or the salvation of souls.

Or to own their own ?

For once ?

To  dance alone,  naked on the beach at midnight.

Or perhaps to actually find contentment in the relative security of solitude.

The magnitude of the concept is humbling -

in the shadow of the bigger scheme of things.

It rings true ,

for the few who may understand;

To those who grasp the hand

of opportunity

or reach out and take a stake in life's game.

Well- prepared to loose or win.

To sin , perhaps ; to shorten the odds

or at least to sway them in one's favour,

Savoring each passing  pulse-beat moment ,

I  realize  the reality;

My  last breath  was my  last

And my  next may be either a beautiful or a bitter bonus.

Ah, but to revel in this rowdy  reflection of our  now.

Surviving , somehow.

                               May 2007