Alcoholism
Poison,
drips down.
Tastes like honey.
The Yellow Book
There was only one set of headlights traveling down the highway toward the remains of San Francisco on the morning that marked ten years since the end of the world. To celebrate this day of memorial all three radio stations left in California decided the appropriate course of action was to unironically play R.E.M’s “It’s the End of the World” on repeat, for 24 hours. Sasha was into it for the first few hours, but after singing her heart out about the fall of New York City, the flooding of New Orleans, the bombing of DC and the rise of Alaska she was starting to feel a bit depressed. As Sasha dug through the hundreds of loose CD’s in her front seat for something a little more upbeat she heard the tell-tale “thump-thump” of running over something. Moments later the cloying smell of skunk filled her car. Half choking Sasha unrolled her window and desperately grabbed for “The Yellow Book: Guide to Safe Travels in a New World” that resided in h...
I really liked the structure and imagery you've presented here. Moving from poison to honey emphasised the softening, the dripping. Without the title though, this poem has a very broad scope. I didn't read the title initially and I was torn between reading this literally ( someone was being poisoned -- homicide or suicide) and metaphorically (someone's cruel words were coated in honey). It'd be cool to tweak this a little to see if you can convey the alcoholism without the title.
ReplyDeleteI liked this. I was going to say the same as Asha, without the title the poem might not have had the same meaning. I have struggled with this too, the 6 word format is way harder than it looks.
ReplyDeleteI loved this piece. You’ve described alcoholism beautifully in a few words. I especially like the contrast between poison and honey.
ReplyDeleteGood piece and done well. I liked how you brought honey to indicate alcoholism dripping like poison.
ReplyDelete