After the treatment center went broke and became a tavern

After the treatment center went broke and became a tavern

He lived out back (sometimes) in a shelter handmade of string, a tarp and some plastic safety fencing. He showed me a photograph of himself from the early days of the tavern. So he never left. He transitioned in a smooth overlap from someone in recovery to a drunk and an addict who lived full-time behind a tavern. That’s how it went after the treatment center went broke, and the next occupant of the building was a tavern. As if that should ever be allowed. In the picture he showed me he was shirtless, very fit and good looking (if a bit thin). In the picture his hair was long and dirty (real Jesus hair) and he was dancing alone like one does late at night near closing time in an almost empty bar. The picture was taken with a flash, the camera close to him. He glowed against a background of amber-lighted gloom. Even though his eyes were closed and he smiled his face was a smock of hopelessness. One wondered where his young wife and child were that night, like where were they the moment that photograph was taken.