Happy Hour
That’s it; all you’re allotted.
Sixty minutes, at best,
Or a wee bit more,
If the bar is generous enough.
Whoop it up while you can.
Revel in the big hand,
Slowly turning one revolution,
Ticking towards what time
Remains in your gleeful pursuit.
Order quickly and make it count.
Nothing fancy or pricey here.
The well is your best friend—
No matter how many rounds
It takes to get the job done,
Before the snacks disappear.
And who really knows…
You might get fortunate.
Lady Luck could prevail.
You may meet a certain someone,
Who also enjoys beating the clock.
Yes, this is the best game in town,
Where anything is possible.
And, in the grand scheme of things,
Should your wish become true,
Happy hour lasts a lifetime.
Happy Hour by Bart Edelman | Sandalwood Poetry Reed Diffuser
Bart Edelman was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and spent his childhood in Teaneck. He earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Hofstra University, where his literary work is archived in the Special Collections Department of the Axinn Library on campus. He has taught at Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York, Santa Monica College, West Los Angeles College, Long Beach City College, UCLA, and Glendale College, where he edited Eclipse, A Literary Journal. Most recently, he was appointed to the Affiliate Faculty in the MFA Program at Antioch University, Los Angeles. He was Poet-in-Residence at Monroe College of the State University of New York. His work has been widely anthologized in textbooks published by City Lights Books, Etruscan Press, Fountainhead Press, Harcourt Brace, Longman, McGraw-Hill, Pearson, Prentice Hall, Simon & Schuster, Thomson, the University of Iowa Press, Wadsworth, and others. He has been awarded grants and fellowships from the United States Department of Education, the University of Southern California, and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin to conduct literary research in India, Egypt, Nigeria and Poland. In addition, he received National Endowment for the Humanities grants for a series of lectures at public libraries on “The Common Good: Individualism and Commitment in American Life,” and “Trails: Toward a New Western History.” Collections of his poetry include Crossing the Hackensack (Prometheus Press), Under Damaris’ Dress (Lightning Publications), The Alphabet of Love (Red Hen Press), The Gentle Man (Red Hen Press), The Last Mojito (Red Hen Press), The Geographer’s Wife (Red Hen Press), Whistling to Trick the Wind (Meadowlark Press) and This Body Is Never at Rest: New and Selected Poems 1993 – 2023 (Meadowlark Press). He lives in Pasadena, California.






