Novelette

Watching all the cunts go by
The drunken dreg with his open fly
The amorous brat with a spark in her eye
And the stillness between them, that's you

Listening to the bastard slurping Guiness
The working lady conducting business
The ageing philosopher in fading wiseness
And the questions they all ask of you

The freezing patrons with aching feet
Who cannot sit within the heat
The empty tables with the free seats
Are all reserved for you

I've long ceased writing that novelette
I never knew what it was for
I'm closing your tab and clearing your debt
And I'm not selling to you anymore

The stumbling juicehead who still wants more
The hopeless troublemaker thrown out the door
The soaked pub-crawler collapsed on the floor
Was just ejected from you

The 7-foot bouncer with his machismo bare
The pierced biker with the piercing glare
The stoic veteran with a thousand-yard stare
All step aside for you

The lookalike students who think they're so clever
Will betray their studies and do whatever
It takes to please and do it forever
If it means just a word from you

I'm pouring your succour down the sink
I never knew what it was for
I'm covering the canvas with black ink
And I'm not painting you anymore

The stench of the elite grows evermore near
There's shouting first and then they're here
And once they've settled their intentions are clear
They've come here looking for you

The place is cramped with carnal futility
Obsession and competitive hostility
Permeating the walls of the facility
Reverberating off of you

The yearnings of the jealous swell
The ones who have had and have not as well
Are all coming out of their shell
In an effort to infiltrate you

I'm breaking my guitar and snapping the strings
I never knew what it was for
I'm amputating the beauty from all things
And I'm not singing to you anymore

The lecherous gluttons never have their fill
They were longing then and are longing still
Whether under the needle or over the hill
They're all thinking of you

Following the worshippers walking in line
Beneath dying stars that misalign
And disorder the cosmos in order to shine
Their ardent light upon you

The distant but deafening cathedral bell chimes
Signalling the death of my pathetic rhymes
And the birth of so many unforgettable times
As the world goes to bed with you

I'm taking the batteries out of my watch
I never knew what it was for
I'm leaving the memories within your crotch
And I'm not fucking you anymore

I've long ceased writing that novelette
I never knew what it was for
I'm changing the pillowcase on which you wept
And I'm not helping you anymore