After The Party

I do my rounds,
collect the glasses,
some emptied to the last drop,
others with anything from
a finger of whiskey,
a solitary olive,
to half a tumbler of flat beer.

A couple are rimmed
with lipstick
while others may bear
the weight of aftershave
or float a little
on a schooner of perfume.

I’m no forensic scientist.
I can’t identify
the individual drinkers.
But I can recognize
my recent company as a whole.
And I know a good time
when I see what is left of it.

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in Soundings East, Dalhousie Review and Qwerty with work upcoming in West Trade Review, Willard and Maple and Connecticut River Review.

[image: After The Party | Andy Warhol]