Joe comes to work
lamenting
about his place in the world.
Earnest eyes
seeking solace
as he regales us with stories
of when he was an alcoholic
“Oh yeah, I’m happier now,”
he says,
as he talks about his wife
he doesn’t sleep with anymore
and the son that moved home
because he can’t keep a job.
Hyper focused gazes
as he talks about work.
Repeating the same phrases,
hoping for a different response.
Camaraderie,
a connection,
something
that offers even a portion
of the comfort he used to find
at the bottom of a fifth of
Jack.