the band is playing african music
an older spanish lady gets up
starts to clap anywhere but on the beat
she laughs and starts dancing
the young woman
with dreads almost to her knees
joins her
then a couple from the other side of the bar
where are you from
the girl across from me asks
i'm local
what a great band
she says
and gets up
i don't feel like dancing
i don't want to like the band
but i do
the owner grabs my hand
don‘t sit
i get up and notice a weird plastic fish in the corner
the band finishes this one song
after what must have been twenty minutes
and i
i almost started to dance
she walks away naked
she does not look back
the sparrows start their wake up call
i never check the clock
the summer heat still in the room
come back to bed i say
she walks away naked
she never looked back
it’s the local meeting spot
coffee, beer and gambling place all at once
i’ve been here before
once or twice
coffee is good
and cheap
i get a croissant
leo an older italian man
fills the place
with conversation
laughter
and life
something about the mafia
lost in the italian
i don’t ask
he introduces me to laura
she got some good money
from her last divorce
and she could use company
he tells me
she gets quiet
they offer me
some italian cheese
it’s salty
and bitter
i like it
he’s drinking a lager
while i have a coffee
we both probably
can’t tell the time
come back later
he says
for a nice bottle of wine
street parade
people come to the city
to dance and rave
i’m trying to make my way through
i forgot
again
carrying my guitar
and a heavy bag
just finished playing a wedding
for a couple
who didn’t look that in love
a girl in the corner
shoulders shaking
mascara down her cheeks
i keep walking
a woman walks towards me
short white skirt
she looks at me
lifts it
flashes me
i take a look
she smiles
i keep walking
three dudes with three guitars
sitting on a quiet street
playing a song about love
grief
and loss
a woman sits next to them
tries to kiss
the least Irish looking of them
he rejects her
i keep walking
I smoke a cigarette
on the platform
and wait for the train
to the south
maybe mine
today is a beautiful day
the sun is out
the same people
pacing down the street
just like the day before
something feels heavy
maybe mine
tired, maybe
or just sad
really hard to tell
i drink the same coffee
in the same spot
as yesterday
but it's different
really different
i force myself to smile
there's a heaviness
in the air today
maybe mine