it's been a bad day :
a hero is at the bar ,
getting drunk once more -

reliving the past
of great and glorious wars
and current nightmares -

feeling no pain , he
staggers against the shoulders
of unyielding ghosts -

and the ghosts shove back ,
taking umbrage at having
to point the way home -

muttering curses
and striking without aiming ,
he falls with a crash -

into the gutter ;
he roars his frustration at
what life has become -

a forgotten one
flash-in-the-pan-now-he's gone
he still remembers -

and the ghosts pass by ,
shaking their heads and giving
him plenty of room.

(c) 2005, by Karla Dorman.