IN THE BAR
“Did you see Bohemian Rhapsody,”
I asked the barmaid. “You know,
the movie?” “Yes, I did,” she said.
“Did you cry?” “Yes, a little. It was
sad. What happened to him was sad.
Did you cry?” “Yes, I cried a lot.”
“Well, you’re a poet, so you’re
supposed to cry.” “But are we poets
supposed to cry a lot?” “Yes, oh yes,
you are,” she said. “A lot.” “And why
is that?” I asked. “So we don’t have to,”
she said putting my beer on the bar.

THE BOAST
Jim and I were at the bar.
A woman turned to us
and said, “I can drink
the both of you under
the table with one eye
tied behind my back.”
Shit, she wasn’t even drunk.

J.R. Solonche has published poetry in more than 400 magazines, journals, and anthologies since the early 70s. He is the author of Beautiful Day (Deerbrook Editions), Won’t Be Long (Deerbrook Editions), Heart’s Content (Five Oaks Press), Invisible (nominated for the Pulitzer Prize by Five Oaks Press), The Black Birch (Kelsay Books), I, Emily Dickinson & Other Found Poems (Deerbrook Editions), In Short Order (Kelsay Books), Tomorrow, Today and Yesterday (Deerbrook Editions), True Enough (Dos Madres Press), The Jewish Dancing Master (Ravenna Press), If You Should See Me Walking on the Road (Kelsay Books), In a Public Place (Dos Madres Press), To Say the Least (Dos Madres Press), The Time of Your Life (Adelaide Books), The Porch Poems (Deerbrook Editions), Enjoy Yourself (Serving House Books), Piano Music (Serving House Books), For All I Know (Kelsay Books), A Guide of the Perplexed (Serving House Books), The Moon Is the Capital of the World (Word Tech Communications), and coauthor of Peach Girl: Poems for a Chinese Daughter (Grayson Books). He lives in the Hudson Valley.