McSorley's Bones

The massive double globed gas lamp
hangs over the ancient oaken bar
It's soft diffusive light reveals the burnt amber patina
of this famed watering hole, redolent of beer-and-sawdust
The long brass rod between the lamps appears to be filled
with pendulous misshapen clothes pins

They are in fact old turkey wishbones of
variable vintage
An oft told tale speaks of World War I dough boys
who hung these talismans to mark their leaving as well as
their hope of a safe return
The unclaimed bony relics hang aloft
in watchful remembrance of those who didn't come back

Over the years the bony relics became encased in
great tufts of thick grey clinging dust,
an eminence grise, never to be disturbed
The public health bureaucrats disagreed and
issued an order to remove or clean them

The oldest bartender attended to this sorry chore
He cradled each in his hands and cleaned it
like a curator restoring a Meissen porcelain
He returned the ones that didn't crumble in his hands

The shrouds of great gray dust were laid
reverently in a container which the old man
put in a place of honor in his home