WHISKEY ALL AROUND

Throw a rope to the ten year old boy
trapped at the edge of the Mississippi.
When he grabs it, pull him in.

A young woman stands on the Burlington bridge.
Reach for her, but she's gone,
her picture in the paper tomorrow.

Loosen soil around the lilac bushes
and work-in pulverized lime.

This and that,
whiskey all around.

School girls climb onto the bus
at eight AM.
Whores in short skirts and mesh stockings
wait on the corner.

No mail, not even a bill,
in the mailbox.

Northern lights like dreaming curtains
above the cruise ship.

This and that,
whiskey all around.

A fox carries a bullfrog in its mouth,
running across back roads.

Sweat drips off sun-tanned skin
which smells like coconut oil.

The pharmacist's wife lies in bed with the preacher
while her husband dispenses drugs.

Silt turns into fossils, granite, diamonds
or coal.

I write this evening until my hand cramps.
My pen gives up
and whiskey glows gold in my glass.