Its seven o’clock on a Friday Evening
One by one they came strolling in
Soon Miss Chin’s Bar will be full of them
Neighborhood folks on their weekend’s thrill
The Barmaid extremely busy
Unpacking Guinness, Red stripe and Ting
The glass-case loaded with fry dumplings
Slices of bread, salt fish and red herring
Cow cod and goat head soup bubbling
Steam fish, jerk pork and jerk chicken
A juke-box with mento and reggae music
Play any two tunes for a shilling
From midday Popsy seated in a corner
Half a sleep over tonic and gin
On his arm clungs his wife Fay
She’ll never leave without him
Aston Ruddock seated at the counter
He will buy any man a rum or two
Yet plenty a man won’t ever accept it
For rumors what he and an Englishman use to do
Busha Parkie a regular customer
He metaphorically opens and closes the bar
He’s always drinking and spitting
As if his stomach an overflowing reservoir
Now Mass Ken never leaves Miss Chin
Since she and Rocky parted ways
While Agatha, Arthur and Miss Dor are there
Whither its rainy, stormy or sunny days
The Bar is full of patrons
In groups they are conversing
Briscoe the baker with Tooksie a factory worker
Mon a whole heap a babblings
William perhaps the most intelligent
Yet only a carpenter by trade
He’s quick with a joke on a politician’s quote
How Howard Charvis sailed the wrong boat
On top of a table scathered dominoes
And a neatly stack deck of cards
For their will always be some people
Who will no doubt play for a smalls
Every Jackman eying the Barserver
As she passes the liquor around
Sweet lyrics they all are uttering
In their quest to take her home
Then there is a backroom
Obscured under dimmed lights
Men watching go-go dancing
Not a fuss, a quarrel or fight
These men should have been home
Spending time with wife and kids
Then again I shouldn’t have said that
Frankly its none of my business
Now I must end this saga
As life continues on
For as I aged and get older
At Miss Chin’s Bar I too will make my trod.
NB. Inspired by the song “The Pianoman” by Billie Joel. Dedicated to the memory of those named therein, all but four is now deceased. So long my friends may you all rest in peace.
