Love Poem: Looking For Hemingway
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Written by: John Castellenas

Looking For Hemingway

Looking for Hemingway


It is happy hour at the Monterey wharf, I was looking for Earnest Hemingway. I ordered two double shots of Irish whiskey. I put one in front of me and one in front of the empty seat near me.

A pretty woman with dark brown eyes, curvy body and summer dress sat with me. She smiled and she asked me, You always drink with ghosts? The ghost, you are waiting for is on the coast of South America. He don't like Monterey in late May. Earnest liked the tropic in late Spring.

She took the whiskey shot and she downed the whiskey. She smiled at me and she told me. My name is Florentina, a comrade of Mr. Hemingway. We get along, us writer's like to discuss everything we cannot fix. Me and Earnest can drink till closing time and we skinny dip in the Monterey bay after. You can say, we are both foolish and crazy.

I told my name is Johnnie, not as brave as Hemingway, but with enough Irish whiskey. I would be tempted to skinny dip with a beautiful lady.

She smiled, took both my hands, she kissed them both. She gave me a devilish smile and she whispered. I feel the deep regret of things gone and I feel the energy of a dangerous man. The night is young, the whiskey is strong and the sea is cold. Let's  make Ernest smile at 3 am. We will be bare ass, knowing a lot of laughter and we shall know great company. Always a blessing to have a friend close when the night is cold.