September 15, 2024,
A young man at his favorite bar
is about to close his tab.
He’s a shot and four beers in
but stone cold sober
because it’s the last time
he’ll ever set foot in the place.

          The pipeline springs a new breach.

One of the female bartenders
has garnered a certain reputation
of getting a little too drunk,
a lot too flirty on shift
but he didn’t know this
before getting entangled
in unchecked and often mixed signals.

          The pipeline hungers for fresh blood.

Utterly confused, he finally had to ask
I thought that you were into me?
earning a matter-of-fact answer
I was drunk. Sorry.
Now saddened, he became scarce
which another friend noticed. Reaching out
they gave him a space to confide his hurt.

          Did the young man need to say the girl’s name?
          Probably not, but nevertheless,
          the pipeline widens to gaping.

Except the friend was the wrong friend. 
Forgetting discretion and chasing drama,
they begged the nonchalant bartender
for her side of the story.
Now she knows her name and reputation
are in the mouth of a rejected man
and he’s become the villain of the bar.

          The pipeline begins to breathe in.

It’s now September 16,
and the young man
has too much on his mind
and nowhere to go with it
except online.
He floats his story in places like Reddit,
to see what others might say

          drifting ever closer to that pipeline.

Some say things like
men are always assuming things
which may be right, but
it’s not the support he’s looking for.
Then another validates him with 
that’s just what women do, my friend.
It’s that latter voice he latches onto.

          The next part
          happens
          in a flash.
          The pipeline
          swallows
          his arm
          but it’s okay
          because
          they want him,
          have a perfect
          place
          for him
          so
          he
          doesn’t
          fight
          just
          gives
          in
          lets
          himself
          fold
          in
          half
          disap-
          peared

like the threat they never see coming;
one almost impossible to escape
if no one else knows it’s happening.