PICTURE OF THE DAY
yesterday
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today
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tomorrow
Wednesday
March 1, 2000
a pint of evan williams
costs $5.85
90 proof
that's a lot of drunk
for six bucks
in Washington
the liquor store jockies
are government employees
this one tosses a bottle
high in the air
and catches it clumsily
but it doesn't break
the dead end stares
of those like me
who wait patient
as immigrants
for a benign agent's stamp
i'm drumming the curved
surface of my pint
finding different tones
depending where i tap it
it's the perfect size
good and heavy
in the hand
like a handgun
of simpler times
and just enough
for one man
for one night
"ever tend bar?" i ask
"the way you're flip-
ping that bottle..."
"no, not really, well
i did, once, years ago,
underage, they asked me,
catering a wedding, but
then i didn't have to."
he rings me up
slides it in
a perfect fit
in one of those
flat brown bags
that serve no other
purpose and to a drunk
have about them
an air of christmas
it goes deep into
the pocket of my red
seattle rainjacket
hanging low like
a cowboy's saddlebag
weighted with provisions
i walk out into an after-
noon full of promise
