The Enlisted Men's Club

The El Royal Restaurant, Bar & Club, located onAn old pool table with balls to rack
old Highway 20 in Pryor, Oklahoma, reminded me soThe crowd is gathering late
much of some of the clubs on Guam. I was in theThe tables spread with linen cloths
Navy during the Viet Nam War and saw the B52'sA candle burns, it's flame so soft
leave Anderson Air Force Base and fly over theA war forgotten it's horrors scoffed
Naval Communications Station in the mornings andThe time in essence is lost
return late in the evening while we were watching anA salted rimmed margarita glass
outdoor movie.A lemon slice, not much to ask
Entering the club from the parking lot, the bar wasA picture of the Sooners past
on the right with a small dance floor on the left withThe time slips by so fast
a jukebox and large TV. There are a couple of poolA menu filled with Chinese food
tables in the back with pictures of the OklahomaAnother drink to set the mood
Sooners spaced around the walls.A floor show rocking on the floor
The atmosphere in the small club appeared fitting soThe crowd is grooving too
I put it all together in the following poem.Our bombers labor with fuel and bombs
The Enlisted Men's ClubThe laughter drowns ongoing sobs
A weathered sagging wooden doorEach candle's flicker, a life snuffed out
A tattered carpet on the floorBut the steak is good on Guam
The bartender busy with the crowdThe shuffle board is smooth as silk
A waitress doing choresA 'White Russian' is not just milk
Some tables and chairs a TV setThe crowd is thinning, the heroes shout
The jukebox playing a memory yethe lights so low,Then the moment shifts to gilt
dim shadows castThe words de-fanged, the evening is gone
A girl you haven't metThe girls show the heroes home
The charcoal smell of burning steaksThe night is boned.
The crispness of a salad made