WAR Poem: Cocktail hour on the front porch, by Sadie Burch

The atom bomb. It rolls off
your tongue
like the name of your great-
grandmother. Her white linen scarf wrapped
around your shoulders. Dead
when you were born. Dying
when your mom was pregnant. What makes a good
cocktail? We ask each other. I never
wash my glasses; you rim yours in sugar
water. You know I never wanted
to be beautiful just cause I never
wanted to be hooked on something. Of course, I’m lying
just a little. I started my day by oil-pulling mercury
out of my teeth. But doesn’t the mercury still enter
your bloodstream? You ask. Ah, don’t be silly,
have a drink. Take a sip. The glass
sloshes and spills into the dirt.
ants wash up. A caterpillar crawls
on a nearby leaf. What an evil little
world you say.

Author: poetryfest

Submit your Poetry to the Festival. Three Options: 1) To post. 2) To have performed by an actor 3) To be made into a film. View all posts by poetryfest