Keep breathing
She said
But Amy didn’t listen
Keep believing
She said
But Jim wouldn’t try
Stop swilling down that whiskey
The muse slowly sighed
But Janis was too drunk to hear.
Others used shotguns
Or crawled into small spaces
Knowing Fear
Was best served up cold
Better eaten while stoned.
The muse said
Stop tampering with God
And all of his blessings
She cried
Get to Rehab
Get to Church
Get Help
You can’t do this alone.
She said
But Amy didn’t listen
Keep believing
She said
But Jim wouldn’t try
Stop swilling down that whiskey
The muse slowly sighed
But Janis was too drunk to hear.
Others used shotguns
Or crawled into small spaces
Knowing Fear
Was best served up cold
Better eaten while stoned.
The muse said
Stop tampering with God
And all of his blessings
She cried
Get to Rehab
Get to Church
Get Help
You can’t do this alone.
None of them listened.
None of them matter;
Except as fodder and food for this Poem.Lynnie Gobeille has published in The Sow's Ear Review, Crone’s Nest, The Avatar, The Prairie Home Companion, This I Believe (NPR), The New Verse News, The Providence Journal (Poetic License) and The Naugatuck River Review. Editor of the Providence Journal Poetry Corner (South County Edition ), her essays can be heard on NPR public radio. She is the co-founder of The Origami Poems Project, a state wide “free poetry event” based in Rhode Island . Her “micro chapbooks” can be found on their website: www.origamipoems.com .
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