not quite AA, but only 12 steps to the bar

Cherry

By JupiterMoon

Thu, 13 Nov 2014
  • 7618 reads
9 comments
 

not quite AA, but only 12 steps to the bar

 

the afternoon drinkers,

wear no wedding rings;

these, are the lost men,

who failed to persuade, anyone,

to risk them.

 

i take my place,

bowed and bust,

youngest by a lifetime,

yet, welcomed as another

who has wedded drink;

late one night, unaware

of the solidity

of such a choice.

 

time pours away,

like the hissing, parted lips

of an open wound.

each of us here,

an alcoholic

who lost the badge,

some weekday night,

somewhere; some forgotten

time ago.

 

39 livers, bloated and broken,

as inside,

we are

like the unnecessary offal,

of the meat truck.

Certificate U
Poem
Hear the Hush of the Axe Behind You
Philosophy
Miscellaneous
Autobiography

Comments

Submitted by VeraClark on

A gutsy confessional with a real matter of fact tone. 

 

Submitted by scratch on

What matter-of-factness.  Honesty in spades and fantastic imagery.  It's all good but I especially like the second stanza.  Really good.

 

Submitted by celticman on

yep. gritty and groan filled and full of dis-ease, but truth often hurts. 

 

Submitted by blighters rock on

Great to read a poem that opens with a joke, curdles as it's stirred and ends with a whip round the midriff for good measure. The abattoir calls for the abortions of life that sit and stare in silent pubs the world over, and the state isn't averse to raping them every day of their offal lives with a nice little tax top with blackcurrant. Here's to the next world. This one's good to go

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Jupitermoon this is pretty real. I often tell myself that it is a waste of time where I live searching for a man my age as all the singletons are wedded to their pint of beer. You illustrate how this relationship can sometimes be unhappy.
 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

 

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Quiet tragedy of addiction, the  acknowledgement that life has been surrendered. 

Submitted by fatboy74 on

"Unaware of the solidity of such a choice" Fantasic line in so many ways. Very good poem.

 

Submitted by JupiterMoon on

Wow - these seems popular. Thank you all for your comments. There is sadness in this poem; sadness in the surrender. But, that's the thing about surrender, you can change it. You can work hard to not wave the white flag.