nice one, bilox'
-------
Pool Hall Days
days fell away in zen-lucid
ball smacking cadence
it was a hazy time
we of age lived within the fog
of 'Nam and Draft
guys settled arguments with fists
and fast cars and motorcycles
smoking tires on country roads
was part of life (ain't nobody like
serious rural motorheads
we were in love out of love
inventing new candles to burn
and that soft dead clack of pool balls &
their satisfying plunk into a leather pocket
offered a respite from an angry world
a better kind of instant gratification
than most of our other available choices
beneath chain-hung metal light fixtures
we lost ourselves in the expanse
of great felt greens glowing softly
in blue swirling tobacco haze
as we executed evolving strategy
inhaling victory and defeat
with cigarette fidget
on snowy days and tee shirt nights
feeding the obsession
and as we learned to abandon control
we were rewarded with
absolute focus and
lightning cue stick magic
burning alive
in our hands
--Dean McClain,
from 'Splitsville'
source:
http://www.poolandbilliards.aceswebworld.com/pool_billiards_poems.html#poolhalldays