artwork: ralph murre
Tiny Moments of Light
by William Taylor Jr.
A pretty girl
in a sad old bar
in a sad old neighborhood
on a Wednesday afternoon,
seeming out of place
with the old men
quietly drinking beer
the color of the graying wallpaper
and the drizzling rain.
She smiles and smokes
thin cigarettes
as the old men buy her drinks
and tell their stories.
Her laughter is music;
her eyes are kind and more alive
than the sun
as she puts her coins in the jukebox.
When her songs play she leaps
from her stool
to dance in the tiny space
between the tables
with a joy that is real,
with a joy that proves
some kind of beauty
still exists in spite of everything,
She dances
and the old men watch
with grateful smiles,
thankful for unexpected magic
and tiny
moments of light
to remember and keep with them
through all the dark and ugly hours.
~ previously published in Bar Code (Little Eagle Press)
