Sober Phobia

[Wildcard]

Sober Phobia

I

They don't give you a chip
for being a fucking drunk
no matter how long
your streak lasts.

II

She needed a bracer.
Damn a day with three kids
that make way,
way too much noise.

The children have ascended
into chutes and water slides—
into heaven really, but she plops down
at a picnic table
in Hell.

III

All the negatives clump
together like clinging bits
on a magnet...
glaring at the hopeful others.

Jason takes pills for his back.
Jenna is bi-polar and pro-Xanax.

Someone toddles up
to ask for more sunscreen
...familiar little guy.

IV

The heat is worse
with a dry mouth
and when your head is busting
from the late night
and the bright day.

V

The engine and the road
threaten to drag her under.

Teeth marks
in her tongue
are for strength.

VI

Everyone accounted for—

Almost. Someone
is touching
someone. Barely pays attention
to whom she struck.

A cupboard; a glass;
a freezer; a bottle; and
a searing epiphany
that this is the only time
she feels alive.

Original

Sober Phobia

I

They don't give you a chip
for being a fucking drunk
no matter how long
your streak has lasted.

II

The common chaos of elves dancing
and bouncing off walls
required a bracer.
Damn the law
and a dry day with three kids
that make way,
way too much noise.

A false hope springs
from the quiet of the car ride,
but by mid-morning she curses its memory.

The children have ascended
into chutes and waterslides-
into heaven really, but she plops down
at a picnic table
in Hell.

III

All the negatives clump
together like clinging bits
on a magnet-
glaring at the hopeful others.

No one complains
of the heat
or the noise.

Jason takes pills for his back.
Jenna is bi-polar and pro-Xanax.

Someone toddles up to ask for more sunscreen
. . . familiar little guy.

IV

The heat is worse
with a dry mouth
and when your head is busting
from the late night
and the bright day.

V

The engine and the road
threaten to drag her under.
The chaos helps-
for once.

Teeth marks
in her tongue
are for strength.

VI

Everyone accounted for-

Almost.
Someone is touching someone.
Barely pays attention
to whom she struck.

A cupboard, a glass;
a freezer, a bottle-
a searing epiphany
that this is the only time
she feels alive.