Bamford Cafe #poem & #painting by Nikos Laios

Rows of bottles
Sit on rustic shelves,
Red wine glistening
Like rubies under
Candlelight.

The slow jazz
Plays from a record
Player in an old cafe,
The warm chocolate walls
Gilded by gold trimmings,
And the frames of old photos
And paintings decorate the walls;
Degas, Monet, Seurat
And that rascal Lautrec

The evening proceeds,
And the babble of the
Crowd in the cafe rises
Like rich syrup,
Sweet warm honey
That seeps into the folds
Of my skin and deep
Into the crevices
Of my winter soul.

Warm rich musical notes
Mingle with laughter,
And the aroma of cooked
Food and spices floats
Through the cafe,
All washed with red wine
Like a river.

A red river flowing to the sea,
And all the souls in that moment
Collected from the cafe
And floated over the city and river,
Over quays and bays
And salty southern shores.

Seduced by the night
And the moment,
We all communed in
That Bacchanalian night;
The dandies, bohemians,
Suits, beautiful women,
Students, poets and actors;
Heads thrown back in a
Dionysian reverie and
Gently floated out of
The Bamford Cafe.

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With a digital painting from Nikos Laios

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Check Nikos Laios' NEW eBOOK, HERE!