Old Town

In a tourist snare,
bartender poured out
Margaritas that claimed
to be of heaven. We
cautiously brandished smiles
through the cluttered land
of bar talk, we
listened to the retread
joke he probably rolled
at every visitor.
"There's a university here,
you know. The men are
men, so are
the women, and
the sheep run scared."
The land continued
to beam--proud despite
derogatory words of reservations
gone wrong and the decay of
morality. Outside the air-
conditioned bar, the sun spilled
off the sidewalk, staring up
bleary eyed at the business
of Old Town.