Seeking
Simple men
The first regulars started to shuffle in around five o’clock, having just knocked off from whatever low paying job they held. They were a forlorn bunch, with squashed noses, scrunched up eyes and cleft lips. A few of them went instinctively towards to bar to forget their miseries for an hour or two. They were ordinary men, without the blessings of an academic mind or actor’s good looks. They made do though, and they would make their way down to this ratty old pub to sit around and tell tales of missed opportunities, the footy or the rain that would never come.
One rugged man moved to the front of the crowd, a tan guitar underneath his arm. His beard was as rough as steel wool and his eyes as pale as milk but he held himself with an air of experience and knowledge, tinted with the same sadness that they all knew. He began to strum a tune, humming beneath his breath. When he sang, his voice was hoarse and worn with years of smoking. His audience, loyal as ever, stood swaying to his words, sung many times before.
“There’s a whole world out there waiting…”
The men before him, united in their misfortune, raised their glasses and raised their rusty voices to sing along.
“I’m a simple man, but there’s got to be more than this.”
One rugged man moved to the front of the crowd, a tan guitar underneath his arm. His beard was as rough as steel wool and his eyes as pale as milk but he held himself with an air of experience and knowledge, tinted with the same sadness that they all knew. He began to strum a tune, humming beneath his breath. When he sang, his voice was hoarse and worn with years of smoking. His audience, loyal as ever, stood swaying to his words, sung many times before.
“There’s a whole world out there waiting…”
The men before him, united in their misfortune, raised their glasses and raised their rusty voices to sing along.
“I’m a simple man, but there’s got to be more than this.”
♠ ♠ ♠
word count: 228.