Solipsism
Disinhibition
Michelle Westerkamp
She pulled herself up
out of pooling liquor
spilt on the floor
from hours wasting away,
consuming and
being consumed.
1, 2, 3—
Pour another
for today,
pour two
for tomorrow,
and fade
into oblivion.
She put one foot
after the other
stumbling away,
pretending to be a good soldier:
shoulders back!
legs straight!
march!
She drowned once again,
sinking one foot
into pools of liquor,
temptation to feel
disinhibition —
left behind.
But one turned two,
and here we are:
wasting our sorrows away,
pulled in by
the promise of more.
She will find paradise
at the bottom
of a bottle;
and hell
in the early
mornings after.