Alcohol

Lost in the sea of myself
Adrift, alone
Plagued by a cruel wind-
Remembrance;
Whipping
Churning
Boiling the mental waves,
Drowning me in 90 proof-
Only leaving me to crash
Upon the rocks of an empty glass
Stranded in the wasteland
My own cries echoing back
From the empty confines of my mind
Searching for my drunken genie-
A wish, a wish!
Just one!

Where is my Xanadu?
My Shangri-la?
My Elysian fields?
Where might I find
Some fragrant
Forgiving
Balm of Gilead?
Or
Am I doomed
To constant memory?

Suddenly,
A soft tap
Upon my shoulder-
Turning,
Behold!
My djinn
My friend
My dealer
(Myself)
Stands before me
A sly
Conniving smirk
Upon his face
Mouth twisted into
A grinning sneer
As he speaks,
Takes my hand
Leading me away

“Back again, I see
I knew you’d come,
Running once more to me
No worries, dear friend
I have what you need-
And the first taste
Is always free-
The first taste is always free”