After Hours

“I know this place,” he said, with mischief in his eyes.

“Great vibe, cheap drinks, college kids all come together. The music's good, it’s right nearby and the bartender is wise. It’s definitely the place to be if you want to feel alive.”

I entered there, and he was right, it really had this power,

But it didn’t feel quite right at first, off somehow, and almost kind of sour.

I had to beg the question just to get it off my chest,

so I asked the man behind the bar, “What’s it like here after hours?”

He almost turned away from me, and gave me quite the face

And I wondered if I had made some fatal mistake.

The boy I came with rolled his eyes and left,

He seemed annoyed and acted like the truth was just some quest.

He never felt like working for it or knowing any better,

One night, one call, and he was gone without a trace,

He even left my letter.

I stood by my intrigue and kept aching for an answer, I’ll admit- it took some time.

The man behind the bar and I

Had a chance to realign.

We somehow really knew each other,

In ways no one had before.

Till I finally mustered up the courage

To say, “Ok, it’s time.”

“What’s it like here after hours? Is it the same as it is now? Is it worse or is it better or is it just different here somehow?

Is it angry? Is it sad? Should we give it any credit? Is it like our most important goal as if we never met it? Does it still have that same feel it did so way back in October? Or is it all just different now and we must accept it’s really over?”

The man who works behind the bar gave me such a knowing look,

Accepting that I’m young,

And how I don't really recognize how I’m too worried and high strung.

"The bar is what you make it.

It’s not meant to be your savior.

It’s full of drinks and decent people and quite often, misbehavior"

After hours at this place simply isn’t some grand story.

It’s simply just a quiet place,

A solemn face,

An idealized chase.

And I think that’s all it ever was,

A place to soothe the pain,

Some memories to hold closer since the reality is feigned.