THE BARTENDER

He watches one couple
walk through the door fighting,
behind them, a woman totters
on red stilettos, yanking
at her mini skirt.

She sits beside
a suited businessman at the bar,
there to unwind.

Others ache with stories nobody
wants to hear. It’s hard
to imagine all the damage
that’s been done to those
who cannot refrain from drinking.

Dim lights and widened ears,
live music blasting.
The bartender leans closer to listen—
secrets, demons, and dreams.

Each person yearns to empty their
ice-filled glass and have the bartender’s ear
who, without professional training,
has learned how to listen
and not tell or judge.

Those bartenders.
Those companions.

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By Diana Raab. Published in Superpresent, Spring 2026.