by Thomas Michael McDade

Drinking wine all day some
drinkers said was sacrilege
for an Irishman.
Plus there was a pool table
with red felt instead of green
which was always amazing
drunk or sober
as if all the grass on earth
had turned scarlet too.
Old men watched MTV
with the same sense of wonder.
The Man of Wine
had an Ivy League degree
but his old man told him
booking horses and sports
was more secure
than Wall Street,
besides he was the only son left.
A photo of the true heir
an elder brother killed
at the Battle of Anzio shared
a spot over the cigarette machine
with Jack and Bobby
and William Butler Yeats.
There was a curvy blonde regular
with a kinky reputation.
Often when the TV music grabbed
her, she’d kick off her shoes, jump up
on the pool table and dance never
upsetting a ball.
There were wagers on how long
before her damp footprints
would evaporate.
The Man of Wine was known
to gulp a tumbler of port after one
of her performances then sadly
lament he’d be on the other
side of the bar had his big
brother moved like her.