And Then You Wonder Why I Drink

Don’t write

when you imbibe,

they said. Love

in a billion

tongues. But

only when you’re

sober.

We won't make it

to the ‘30s.

Depression’s

2nd coming:

thief and

philanthropist

rapist

and the raped

lifeguard

and the drowned

kid that’s

Black or White.

Trans

or patent cis.

Hasidic

or Buddhist Jew.

Vegan

& Halal.

Indigenous

& not.

Don’t even

scrawl obligatory

notes about the

Tutsi.

Leave your

errant little mercies

at the door.

Your tears for

Fritz the cat.

The Witch

charred at the stake.

Once a little

girl

named Rosa Moore.

Over forty

thousand skulls

in old Dachau.

We’re all skeletons

in the end.

Our bones

to strike a drum

in humid night.

Andreas Gripp

April 8, 2025

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