Celebrating the beauty of these beloved spots through lyrical prose
By Sena Law
O gritty sanctuaries of the night,
Where neon lights hum with restless might,
As the sticky tables hold secrets untold,
You cradle the weary, the wild, the bold.
Here, shadows wander in dim-lit haze,
A cornered jukebox croons forgotten days.
Cheap beer in hand, the world dissolves,
In your smoky embrace, one’s soul evolves.
O peeling paint, the patina of years,
Graffiti scrawls, both crude and sincere.
Your crooked stools, a throne for the lost,
Each dent, each scratch, tells stories embossed.
Neither glamorous or pristine,
Not a menu to be seen.
Neither the fuzz or the frills,
Just a shelter for nocturnal thrills.
Amongst the skyscraping highrises
A place filled with love and vices.
You stayed true throughout time,
A promise that can’t be gentrified.
You, the great equalizer of this urban sprawl,
Where suits and denim collide with it all.
In your corners, dreams ferment and fade,
But for a night, we’re kings in masquerade
The city’s heart beats through your door,
From Kensington’s nook to Ossington and Bloor.
You keep the pulse of the city alive,
Its raw, unvarnished, unfiltered drive.
O dive bar, you are poetry in decay,
A loving ballad to those who’ve lost their way.
May your lights never dim, your taps never dry,
For in your shadows, we learn how to fly.
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