7November2007
The Detention Bar
Posted under places beginning with: P; Portland; Oregon.
This latest story comes to us in poetic form from Robert Bruce, an American Poet living in Portland, Oregon. He wrote this poem partly at home and partly at the Detention Bar - one of several drinking places inside the renovated elementary school McMenamin’s Kennedy School in NE Portland. For more provocative and moving poetry, visit Robert Bruce’s site Knife Gun Pen.
Things weren’t going well
at the desk
so I moved the operation
to my neighborhood pub
settled onto a quiet
corner of the bar
and was lifting a pint
of Ruby Red Ale
to my lips when
the guy next to me
asked what I was doing
“Drinking.”
“No, I mean with
the paper you got there,” he said
“Writing a poem.”
He choked a little
and immediately
started talking about
the Yankees
We were in a public place
so I gave him a grace period
of around three minutes
before shooting him
the signs that I was engaged in
the creation of immortal art
and could not be bothered
He kept at it
Championships
pinstripes
Jeter
runs batted in
After a while
I began to hear a voice
whisper in my ear
“Throw your beer on him.”
I flinched
and the voice came again
“Flick your cigarette at him man,
you’ve got poems to get down.”
Steinbrenner
bad trades
first base
hot dogs
“Kick the stool out
from under him.”
the voice said
The new era
Torre’s a bum
next season
Clemen’s return
It was tempting
This went on
for some time
until I realized where
the voice was coming from
There was no question
It was one of the
bad-seed kids
who’d spent a few
afternoons of detention
in this place ninety years ago
when it was a functioning
elementary school
He was calling to me
to join him in
his badness
Yankee kept chattering
The Detention Kid kept whispering
My beer was getting warm
So I stood up
got out of there
moved the operation
back to my desk
stole this poem
from both of the bastards
and went to bed
Robert Bruce | November 2007
