Whiskey Blues: A Journey Through Memory

A low‑lit bar hummed with the slow ache

of whiskey blues—

that kind of song that settles into the ribs

and reminds a man what he’s carried too long.

He sat alone,

hands wrapped around a glass

like it was the last warm thing in his life.

Years of odd jobs,

bus stations,

cheap rooms with thin walls,

and miles of road dust

hung on him like an old coat.

Then he saw her.

Across the room,

in the glow of a neon beer sign,

a familiar shape of a life he once knew.

She had aged—

of course, she had—

But time had been kind,

etching a quiet, mature beauty

into the lines of her face.

A beauty that didn’t ask for attention,

but earned it.

He felt something shift inside him,

a memory rising like smoke

from a long‑forgotten fire.

School hallways.

Shared jokes.

A world where everything

still felt possible.

He stood,

heart thudding like a fist on a locked door,

and walked toward her.

Each step felt like crossing years.

When he reached her table,

He said her name—

soft, unsure,

as if it might break in his mouth.

She looked up.

And in that dim bar,

with blues humming low,

her eyes lit with recognition—

a spark,

a warmth,

a small doorway back into the past.

For the first time in a long while,

He felt the night open.

11 responses to “Whiskey Blues: A Journey Through Memory”

    1. Thanks Anonymole. I’m back to the land of the living and trying to blow some dust out of the attic. Thought I’d try a post to see if I could remember how.

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  1. This is a really beautiful and moving poem, Daniel.
    I’ve been feeling like this the past couple of weeks.

    Wishing I could meet a female friendly face from yesteryear and for the first time in a while feel the night open for me.

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    1. I think this is a common feeling these days when all the rigmarole has stopped twisting, we start missing the better memories or wish we could start some new ones. Keep following Pan Goatee. He knows a good woman when he sees one. If he sees one.

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    1. Thank you so much. I thought it would be nice to have a ray of hope in my post after so much darkness descending upon us.

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      1. It was a true pleasure to read.

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        1. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I’ve experimented with so many subjects as a Learning process, which means it gets messy at times. This time, I just wanted to touch on something time exposes us all to in one way or another.

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  2. Nice to not be beaten over the head with narrative voice but rather exposed to something. Poetry isn’t pretty, every word matters. Forgetting the classics we turn to what matters, can be said in as few words as possible. Every verse of “Tangled Up In Blue” is a novel. Boil this down to about six lines and leave the Chandler similes on that chipped Formica table with the ashtray the waitress changes out even when it hasn’t been used. Whiskey and the blues and someone I knew when the world was new. Of course I’d overwrite the shit out of it😂 nice to know you’re still above the ground.

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    1. LOL! Does this mean my dribble brings out the best in you, Phil? This reminds me when I was a wee lad trying to be a Carpenter. We addressed each other as Carpenter Dan or Carpenter Phil. This meant one was worthy of the title. However, if one botched a job such as cutting rafters that fit with a bit of sunlight peaking through the joint, you became a cobbler. Carpenter Phil would then admonish and take it upon himself to attempt to educate cobbler Dan on proper geometry, cutting, and measuring skills. In the presence of a Carpenter, I’ll always be a cobbler. Thank you for your effort Carpenter Phil.

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  3. Such a lovely piece of nostalgia. One never knows when on the bluest night we might catch a glance of someone we know from long ago and feel that lost spark come alive. This is truly a delicious bittersweet melancholic delight, Dan. 🕯️

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