I drank in the Original Oak today,

reflecting on how a lifetime slips away,

along with a bowling green, a hall of residence

and Jack Fulltons

(the cheapest frozen food stall in the whole of Leeds).

 

The pub was empty,

but in my mind I saw a crowd,

the bold and the beautiful,

strutting their stuff,

whilst I watched on,

the younger me,

all acne and disbelief,

blending to background

with lager and black,

not knowing then

what I know now.

 

The pub was empty

but in my mind

I saw us both,

you with your friends,

I with mine,

two worlds not colliding

on different tracks

and half a life time away

the knowledge that life sucks.

 

My son sat beside me,

pondering his options,

all fresh faced and hopeful,

but also scared,

the future spread before him,

like fractured glass

a billion life lines,

with just one path;

each lost in separate thought,

the old and the young,

silently supping beer

in the Original Oak.