One whiskey, one cigarette,
and dim eyes through smoke…
A weeping guitar,
an upset pilgrim…


An elusive feeling
for a holiday of some kind, at night---
longing, burning---as a rebuke,
closer, as if to grief…


A smile, like a slap
of long-awaited rain---
without thrill, thought or brilliance,
...sudden, short---like a shout!


And whiskey again, and a cigarette again,
and dim eyes through smoke…
A weeping guitar,
an upset pilgrim…
And here everything goes wrong---
sadness and joy, crying and laughing.


Echoes in the heart, like a temple---
unsolicited but foretold sin!
And not by accident any more,
and not quite on purpose, again
a longing that remained a secret,
melts quietly like snow…


And whiskey again, and a cigarette again,
and dim eyes through smoke…
Totally upset guitar,
almost weeping pilgrim…