Mnemonic

Image author’s own

They were busy when I entered the room

A collection of half men

From high school

Primary school

Some from work

I can’t see what they are doing

Or hear what they are saying

As I approach

They recede into the gloom

Suddenly I’m at the bar

Drinking whiskey

One of the half-men is at my elbow

Whispering

I can’t hear what he is saying

Then he’s gone

The bar brightly lit, clean

Like I nodded off and got cleaned up around

But the murmuring of the huddle persists

I cannot see where it is from

A passage behind the bar

Leads me downstairs in the dark

Until I burst upon them again

They scatter screaming mutely

Terrified by my appearance

Turning to run

My way is blocked by a wall of schoolboys

With striped red and black ties