Does anyone remember what the poem was when the old AS site broke down

[MasqueradeOverture]

404-type error. The poem / short story would end in "What you’re looking for is not here."

Edited November 17, 2022 by MasqueradeOverture

[PokeNirvash]

All I remember based on that line was that it was what the bartender said to the drunkard who wanted his life to go back to the way it was.

[💜 mahala_la_la]

A MAN WALKS INTO A BAR

Not just any bar either.  It was their place, a dimly-lit haven from the noise, that constant wheeze of taxi tires on wet pavement; a place once 
enlivened by the sight of the man leading his lady by the arm to the edge of the mahogany bar.  The couple always sat beneath the television, 
their eyes rarely shifting from each other's mouths, as if their words cast shadows.  On this night, however, the man chooses a stool at the 
opposite end and slumps dejectedly.  This surprises the bartender, a burly asthmatic, who stops swiping a glass.  With a knowing grin the 
bartender ambles toward the man.

"What'll it be?" the bartender asks despite being fairly certain the answer.  The man always drinks 14-year-old scotch NEAT with a sidecar of 
warm water, alternating sips between the two glasses; whereas his former flame would knock back whatever vodka struck her fancy that 
evening, be it flavored or rock gut.

"What'll it be?" the man responds incredulously, his eyes glassing over.  He glances over the bartender's shoulder to the TV, a cathode-ray relic 
that beams the snowy image of a football game, as if it mattered.  Summoning the words, the man lays both palms flat upon the bar, "I'll tell you 
what it'll be," the man says.  "I want my life back.  I want to be under that TV with the person I love.  I want the eight years I invested erased from 
memory.  I want to know why she left.  I want answers."

Below the bar, the bartender taps the phone tucked in his pocket.  He knows everything and nothing.

"What you're looking for ain't here," the bartender replies.

Edited November 20, 2022 by 💜 mahala_la_la
formatting