the raffish
by Jeffrey Alfier
featured in Transformation
featured in Transformation
Late day, and the foreman cuts us loose. Wind stiffens,
cools graders and backhoe
we leave behind at the bayou cutoff.
I flee to a bar beneath
a falling winter sun.
Neon shivers like candleflame.
Rare thin snow whispers its way
to the rooftop. Tobacco
smoke and the musk
of damp bodies crowd
the wind-shot doorway.
On a corner stool
I seek my solitude,
hope my face draws a blank
from all, a story unread.
Shots of rye rattle my skull
like dice in a gambler's cup.
Through the window,
I fix on the parking lot,
watch headlights
shed the darkness.
One drinker, as wordless as I,
slips away without a ride.
She takes foot down an unlit road.
cools graders and backhoe
we leave behind at the bayou cutoff.
I flee to a bar beneath
a falling winter sun.
Neon shivers like candleflame.
Rare thin snow whispers its way
to the rooftop. Tobacco
smoke and the musk
of damp bodies crowd
the wind-shot doorway.
On a corner stool
I seek my solitude,
hope my face draws a blank
from all, a story unread.
Shots of rye rattle my skull
like dice in a gambler's cup.
Through the window,
I fix on the parking lot,
watch headlights
shed the darkness.
One drinker, as wordless as I,
slips away without a ride.
She takes foot down an unlit road.
Jeffrey Alfier’s recent books include Fugue for a Desert Mountain, Anthem for Pacific Avenue, and The Red Stag at Carrbridge: Scotland Poems. His publication credits include The Carolina Quarterly, Midwest Quarterly, and Texas Review. He is the founder and co-editor of Blue Horse Press and San Pedro River Review.
