"Lotto Fever."

Mood, somber
cold scattered ashes, warm wooden floor
wall hangings, obscure, symbolic, some in frames
clashing with rustic decor
thick penetrating shadows
drape over bodies ingesting
poison on red vinyl barstools, booths
lives covered in nicotine, smoke, hypocrisy
statements slurred over brown long neck bottles
country music, shining light from a
suspended "Zenith 19 inch" above the bar
peroxide waitress, foundation coated barkeep
eating barbecue chips from a cost-cutter store brand bag
plastic hair, nails, dreams
how and where to escape
mood, existence, waiting for the numbers
not really believing it happens to
anyone.

© Jack Bowman

Commentary:

Working with mentally and emotionally ill people for 14 years, I have empathized with their plight and perception of how they are viewed by the world. Much of my creative work comes from this center of empathy inside. I began writing 21 years ago and was encouraged by my own therapist to "transform" anxiety and depression into art. A picture of a time, an event, a feeling, a thought that can be described and conveyed in written form is what I do. I encourage everyone to express themselves creatively otherwise they are only using half of their minds (the left brain) to see and exist - they are missing fully half of life!

Jack Bowman
Bonfire contributor