At one end of the bar sits a man His brow is furrowed and his face bears a look of resignation He’s a stranger to us regulars who call this place home And we make no effort to engage him in our conversation
He nods towards the bartender every now and then Indicating that he is in need of refill She obliges and the process repeats itself every hour or so And when the time comes to settle up his tab, he pays in cash
As he makes his way towards the exit We glance at each other and make eye contact And I notice the tears that have welled up in his eyes I motion for him to sit down next to me and order another round
He acknowledges my gesture with a grateful nod And in very few words, explains that he just lost a dear friend Since I don’t know what to say, we sit alongside each other, lost in the silence Each one of us, sharing a drink, alone