Poetry by w v sutra

               Nicolas Henderson CC



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​jumping off

i know it is day
street sounds insinuate
city life taunts the sick man
so hard to be in it 
when the drink takes you down

is that the neighbors i hear
in the room above my bed
they are moaning too

if i drink warm water from the sink
the first drink may well stay down
i learned that trick from another drunk
who claimed to have gotten sober who
said that his name was thus and such
i seem to remember but
my thoughts are not to be trusted
and so i inhabit this solitude 
with nothing settled at all

what a warm mistress is my bed
how close she holds me
these sheets my long gone wife 
had bought for us now
stained with sweat and yes my tears
i shall be sorry to rise and
leave my mistress
my worn mattress
with the days journey unknown
and nothing settled at all

in a moment i will rise and take a drink
the one i took to bed with me has
vanished in the night 
i will hope for the best as 
i wait for the end as 
i wait for the mailbox to 
show me some money
for money is very much needed today
by someone like me
i hope my mum has sent me some
she calls from time to time

how the world does leave you alone
when you hide with no business to mind
all i want is some quiet and peace
to be alone with my thirst and only
my fish of a brain for company
my fish no master of images
out of his water 
fearing the end

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w v sutra is an emerging poet. His work has appeared in Former People and on his website, wvsutra.com . He lives and works on a horse farm in East Tennessee.

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