on the dole...
the dignity
of a dark room
It was around the corner, out of sight. Like most working-man’s clubs. And you had to be early to snag a seat. Yours for the whole day, then. Come afternoon, wives would queue at the bar’s peephole. And one would get lucky now and then, if it was her hubby’s round. Out in the open he’d be, ordering at the bar. Doorman would then yank him out—only fair. ’Course there’d always be one who’d try to sneak in. But if both feet stepped over the white line, she’d be banned, for a month.
still on strike
only children’s clothes
on the washing line
Closed now. Sold to a developer. Wonder what they did with Micky’s false teeth. They were on a shelf behind the bar. In the same pint glass he was holding when the bar staff tried to wake him. Already gone six hours, they said—never was a talker. Died after his wife went home. After queuing. With the pills he forgot. The ones that kept his heart going. Shame that.
huddled together...
the eldest throws the first dirt
and the second
is the author of Tick-Tock, a haibun collection that received an Honorable Mention in the Haiku Society of America’s 2020 Merit Book Awards, and Eira, a collection of haiku and haibun (2023); both books are from Snapshot Press. Lew is also the co-author, with Roberta Beary and Rich Youmans, of Haibun: A Writer’s Guide (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2023). He is the haibun co-editor of Frogpond and holds an honorary doctorate from Bristol University. Born and raised in Wales, he now lives in Chicago with his wife, Roxanne Decyk. His other passions are fly fishing and gin martinis.
