Brewing
originally self-published in Brewing, 2011; Published in Sitting with a Drunken Sorceress, PurpleStone Press, 2013
It is amazing how we can take and give back
to the world as fire takes and gives back to wind.
But there are flames of a different form inside us,
for like fire we breathe oxygen but unlike fire
we are not stifled by the wind, we can take
all of it in and make something of it,
like every time you’ve ever hit a straight on the river
and all the other times deuces beat your aces,
like every night you’ve ever spent awake
with clenched eyelids staining your pillowcase,
or every morning you’ve ever woken up
with swollen eyes and a smile on your face.
Because to the human soul,
experience is a synonym for inspiration.
I’m talking about earning both sides of every penny.
They’re all lucky, some just happen to land face down
the same way we all fall flat on our faces sometimes but
listen,
Breaking up is the static saying
find a better connection,
Hitting bottom keeps you grounded,
Coming up with new ways to cut corners when you have to
keeps you well-rounded,
Every night we turn our backs to the sun
it’s still shining when we finally come around,
and when you finally come around
you’ll quit looking on the bright side
and start living on it.
So here’s to that identity,
To that quality of humanity,
the ability to take the ingredients of the world
And brew poetry.
Here’s to every stroke it takes to stir the pot,
To knowing whether it’s ready or not,
here’s to finally reaching out to the world, saying
open up
and taste this.
