Image "The Drunk Father" (c. 1923) by George Bellows (1882-1925) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
You have smelled, seen, known or are
the kind whose mind
can be enhanced by a potion
Aqua Veleno filled vials
vices of vitriolic spew
chemical concoctions
a mixologists malevolent
remedied reliance
addicted amnesiacs antidote
with spites of bitters
a splash of nasty
a sardonic sprig of superiority
chilled on thrown rocks-not nice
yet neat, to shake things up,
stirring in apathy
nefarious nincompoop
Salude!
Three Cheers!
Four for Health!
Down the hatch!
Fun's always quicker with liquor
unless you get sicker
Someone just un-corked a bottle
when they stepped in the room
Their stench phumes
see those invisible plumes
Pig-pen couldn't even contend
unless you took a swig too
or three
(with goggles it's hard to see)
That those kind that swill and fable
often act unkind, but don't mind
themselves when propped on bar shelves
Sickness, weakness or just casually blind
In your consent, treatment, or term
absent-minded of why you're there
stuck in sticky mire
bereft of any real desire
no garnish or zest
straight up
dosage of liquid courage
inebriation amalgamation
that mires the sane mind
slurs the world, skews the scale
towers built of sand
staggering and fallen stature
amplifies the tenor
increasing crescendo of blasphemy
while tone deaf
like your own ghost
who you've never seen
and claim is dead
incanted wild shiny eyes
fixedly unfocused
stained by devils blood
smitten with the sauce
hankering for the hootch
smiles and red cheeks
moonshine aglow
a vicious taunt
evil spirits foretell
a warning to be
en garde
in battle with Will
meddler and contriver of bad deeds
sower of bad seeds, spreading like weeds
laced with lascivious looks
just sad drowned trodden
sappy fears, soggy years
or claims wished never true
things you wish you didn't do
or maybe were just over due
but can never be undone,
now empty bottoms up
whistled empty wish on crystal lips
stashed, sailed in unread messages like ships
in the night
open seas surround an isle of regret
swimming on swills
repulsive, manipulating,
blind deaf and dumb
belching the way through dizzy
delusions and chortling hiccups
injecting idleness
dumbness
numbness
to turn it off
but it never comes back on
when your bottle is your only friend
until
The End.
