Mind the Time

The snug and chimney corner, cosy pints,
a hum to soothe the numbing senses;
and proximity, fire-lit connection,
an easy banter, relaxed and ready wit
in beer-bright frothy confabulation,
conspiring with words to sing our acts.

More power to your elbow, bright boys;
the long ago and much ado
enthusing us with airy matter -
not so much the doing as the talking up what's done.

Get another round of hyperbole in,
a few chasers of dreams, snifters of hope.
Recounting fish in a beer-bright lake
when the reeds danced like willowy girls
in and out of flickering time;
and in between the spit and sawdust,
announcing we were there, witness-sure. 

How we drank the malty blood of life,
worshipped in the holy pubs
our spin and take on woven moments;
more sons than husbands, all rant and cant,
righting the wrongs of miniature worlds -
but soft within the whiskey-coloured light,
tucked away from Guinness-black night.