Nothing like the smoky atmosphere of a dense city,
When you walk through the crowded sidewalks,
Cross through the busy streets,
And find yourself in good company.

The air seems lighter,
Fragranced with bourbons and bergamot
Various colognes and scents crafts a potpourri
Unique aromatic symphonies tickling the nose -
The only way a good bar can.

I'm parched by the time I hit the bartop,
Shoulder to shoulder with other patrons
As casual conversation flows like the taps,
And then I am asked, "What'll it be?"

How could I resist the sensation?
Smooth caramel-colored bourbon,
The sweet seductive tingly tango of vermouth
And the tangy fiesty bite of bitters,
Place that dagger pick through the cherries
And let me sip on that elegance.

A little dash of heaven,
In a crowded room.

O bartender,
It has been a while
You slinging drinks with a casual smile
Cocktails you throw and stir and shake
And at closing time my heart does break.

O bartender,
What to say, you always know
Crafted words and my excitement grows
Tequila, beer or simply rather
"I'm glad you enjoyed, would you like another?"

O bartender,
You always look after me
Especially when you find me on a spending spree
Thank you bartender for all the great times
For this cocktail now which you call mine.

This old fashioned simpers in my hand
Sweet and sharp, Bitter and Blight
it calms my everything
to a point
where I cannot
Deal

I sit upon an tall bar stool and watch them play.

The air is humid and full of mosquitoes.

One falls into my cocktail and writhes about in what I like to think is terror. Really its just instinct, electrical signals firing through the body of something small and insignificant.

Though its all too easy to think that.

My eyes and attention stray from those I had been previously observing. Drawn to the glass as though it were a beacon.

"Hello little guy." I whisper into my glass. "Want me to help you?"

I laugh quietly to myself for a moment, then down the contents. "A new page tonight?" I ask myself mockingly.

Smoke is billowing into the dimming sky. It is far away, but almost perceptible to my nostrils.

I wonder: is anyone burning? Perhaps a once happy family. Too far away for me to help anyhow. Even though the desire is there.

Hopefully it works out how I hope it will.

I regress with closed eyes back to the day a relation brought home a retriever puppy. Remembering how I had kicked it like one would a football to make it stop crying.

Such bad behaviour. Deserving a beating that. Its a shame my relative was such a soft-hearted one. More punishment would have been deserved.

My eyes open and dart back to the place I was watching before. I notice they're gone.

Playing a childish game near the poolside. One falls into the pool and splashes about furiously. No one is around to help it.

I stand up and walk over.

A look of terror, perhaps hope, appears on its face as it looks up at me. I know better of course.

Really its just instinct, electrical signals firing through the body of something small and insignificant.

After all,
The mosquito,
Fire,
Dog...

It all just depends on personal perspective.