Hard Days On In At The Rehab For Drunken Poets, An Opera Of Sorts, circa 1981
They can't all be like these, I guess.
The days are good, though, when they are.
The formula is simple really -
We take our ragged bones out of rented rooms for long walks.
You point out between bricks the rainbows in windows, the dirt
now become your dirt, your genius for transformations.
I ram my own by now trite and hackneyed points
home over and over, but it works on days like these.
Reprise. Then cold beer in the dying light of
a gray bar. The stage is set. Laughter over the
wear on those other faces as we shudder behind
our own, the usual exchange of wind.
Full darkness mutes the swarm and it begins.
Curtain up.
Back inside our rooms, last castrati on the radio.
Enter winter under the door crack.
This becomes an event,
the retelling in high C;
'...I guess it's just as well we speak
this way in America and call it poetry.'
See. I'm ramming it again.
Cold breaks my concentration.
It's moving up my legs like hemlock.
Poetry should do the same.
OK. I'll get serious. A brief libretto: :
Today sweet Molly with the black eye
and the cut on her breast cried then
decided to return home to Bud who
beats her when she's drunk. I tried to
talk her out of going but she was going
and she went. Scherzo here. Interlude.
Johnny didn't come home but drank a beer
after court, walked down Highway 25 to see
his little girl, called to say he was sorry for
being late. 'You can't come back, Johnny.
You been drinking again.' Coloratura. And gravel.
Joe vomited honey and banana in bed, a real mess.
I caught most of it in a trash can held up to his head.
He roared when he wretched.
'I've vomited more years than I've lived them' he said, shaking.
'I'm a damned drunk and I'll die a damned drunk.'
poem by Warren Falcon
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Johnny Come Home
Nobody knows the trouble you feel
Nobody cares, the feelin' is real
Johnny, we're sorry, won't you come on home
We worry, won't you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny, we're sorry won't you come on...
Use the phone, call your mom
She's missing you badly, missing her son
Who do you know, where will you stay
Big city life is not what they say
Johnny, we're sorry, won't you come on home
We worry, won't you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny, we're sorry won't you come on...
You'd better go, everything's closed
Can't find a room, money's all blown
Nowhere to sleep, out in the cold
Nothing to eat, nowhere to go
Johnny, we're sorry, won't you come on home
We worry, won't you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny, we're sorry won't you come on. home
We worry, won't you come on home...
song performed by by Fine Young Cannibals
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Home Is Myself
long ago
i was unwanted
grandpa
never praised me
though i worked
hard
even for
one word, perhaps
love or
even a pat on my shoulder
which i never
really had
papa i remember
bought me
a toy chopper
but that was just
once
he was not drunk
when he played with me
in the garden
when you feel unwanted
you do not
have friends
you have nothing good to say
it was early
for me to learn that
dying can be good
i never speak to anyone
about it
i only speak to myself
because i have
no choice
i love isolation
it becomes a way of life
never had a best friend
never had a circle of
friends
as a matter of consequence
i become too independent
complete in myself
and had always been
a survivor
despair is an everyday word
so i was no longer
afraid.
today people want me
call me by my name
and praise me, but
it is too late then
i do not need it anymore
when grandpa died all those near me
cried and mourned for days
i keep my usual distance
wear my tinted sunglasses
and walk myself
all alone back home
home is myself
my heart.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Miss You So Badly
By: jimmy buffett and greg taylor
1977
I guess it all blew up in missoula
There just was no other way
After months of goin crazy, there was nothin left to say
But when the dust had finally settled
And the air had quickly cleared
Whoa, things were better off than I had feared
Chorus:
And i, miss you so badly, girl I love you madly
Feelin so sad now since I been gone, gone, gone
It gets quite confusin, it seems that Im loosin
Track of the long days since I been home
Were stayin in a holiday inn full of surgeons
I guess they meet there once a year
They exchange physicians stories
And get drunk on tuborg beer
Then theyre off to catch a stripper
With their eyes glued to her g
But I dont think that I would ever let em cut on me
Chorus:
And i, miss you so badly, girl I love you madly
I think Ive been had though for stayin so long, long, long
And im, just watchin the gong show, waitin for zoro
Losin the long days since I been home
I got a head full of feelin higher
And an ear full of patsy cline
There is just no one who can touch her
Hell, Ill hang on every line
Oh, crazy how things happen, its incredible but true
The longer Im gone the closer I feel to you
Chorus:
And i, miss you so badly, girl I love you madly
Im feelin so glad just to be headin home, home, home
Ive been, battlin motel maids, and chewin on rolaids
Countin the hours till I get home
Whoa I been, countin the hours till I get home
song performed by by Jimmy Buffett
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Highway
Past the breakers, sliver by you never try you
On the tuffet that you never were afraid of
Anyone that was not you
In the corner, tried to warn her I, I, I
Caught in traffic in the middle of the night
In the middle of the highway
The highway
Got your hands in the dirt
Got your head in the grass
You're tryin' to hold on to some of your
Past the test now
You're runnin' outta breath no one behind you
On the subject of Religion decision devision
Collision, provision, cold hard television
Collective bargaining and talk radio radio
Your mother your brother your sister your lover
Your Father whom art in Heaven
Got to be home by eleven if you wanna be a good girl
You got your hands in the dirt
Got your head in the HIGHWAY
song performed by by Train
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Home
My homie called me like what up man
Nat from Florida but what up fam
Is been a whole lot of hatin again
and if they hatin on me damn what up then
I met this girl when I was three years old
and what I love most she had so much soul
She said excuse me lil homey I know you don't Know me but uh my name is wendy(windy)and uhhh I like to blow trees
and from that point I never blow her off
niggas come from out of town I like to show her off
They like to act tough she like to tore em of
and make them straighten up they hat cuz she know they soft
and when I grew up she showed me how to go downtown
and at night her face lit up so astound
I told her in my heart is where she'll always be
She never mess with entertainers cuz they always leave
I said it feel like you walked and drove on me knew
I was gang affiliated got on t.v. and told on me I guess thats why last winter she got so cold on me
She said Ye keep makin that platinum and gold for me
but if you really cared for her
Then you would have never hit the airport and followed your dreams
Sometimes I still talk to her
but when I talk to her it always seem like she talkin bout me
She said you left three kids and they just like you
They wanna rap and make soul beats just like you
but they just not you
and I just got through
Talkin bout what niggas tryin to do just not new
Now everybody got the game figured out all wrong
I guess you never know what you got till is gone
I guess thats why im here and I cant come back home
and guess where I heard that when I was back home
In the interviews im representin you makin you proud
Shoot for the stars so if you fall you land on the clouds
Jump in the crowds
Spark ya lighters wave em around
If you dont k
song performed by by Kanye West
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Be Drunk
You have to be always drunk. That's all there is to it--it's the
only way. So as not to feel the horrible burden of time that breaks
your back and bends you to the earth, you have to be continually
drunk.
But on what?Wine, poetry or virtue, as you wish. But be
drunk.
And if sometimes, on the steps of a palace or the green grass of
a ditch, in the mournful solitude of your room, you wake again,
drunkenness already diminishing or gone, ask the wind, the wave,
the star, the bird, the clock, everything that is flying, everything
that is groaning, everything that is rolling, everything that is
singing, everything that is speaking. . .ask what time it is and
wind, wave, star, bird, clock will answer you:"It is time to be
drunk! So as not to be the martyred slaves of time, be drunk, be
continually drunk! On wine, on poetry or on virtue as you wish."
poem by Charles Baudelaire
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Grammer School
Today it was
twenty years ago
on the 3rd of June
where I found myself
on the top steps
of a church called Pompeii
wearing a thick light blue velvet suit
my oldman got it on Maxwell Street
the syle was 7 years passe'
still I stood there
and my legs were
just a little longer
than the hem of my pants
and I was feeling the heat
of a full belly sun.
youth draped itself
off my face
then the ending of my graduation
brought congrats and free beer
from everybody on Taylor st
my mother held her head high
as I hugged her and smiled
the wind never turned back
the faces of all became one
the door opened wide
and I walked without looking back
poem by Charles Lara
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The Promise Ii
Johnny works in a factory and billy works downtown
Terry works in a rock n roll band looking for that million-dollar sound
Me I got a little job down in darlington but some nights I dont go
Some nights I go to the drive-in and some night I stay home
You see I followed that dream just like those guys do way up on the screen
With a built-up challenger down route 9
Through the dead ends and all the bad scenes
And when the promise was broken I cashed in a few of my old dreams
You see I built that challenger by myself
But I needed money and so I sold it
And I lived a secret I should have kept to myself
But I got drunk one night and I told it
All my life I fought that fight
The one that I cant ever win
And everyday it just gets harder to live
The dreams Im believing in
Thunder road
Oh baby you were so right
Thunder road
Theres something dying on the highway tonight
Well now my daddy taught me how to walk quiet
And how to make my peace with the past
And I learned real good to tighten up inside
And I dont say nothin unless Im asked
When the promise is broken you go on livin
But it takes something from down in your soul
Like when the truth is spoken
And it dont make no difference
Something in your heart turns cold
You see I followed that dream, me and some guys
Through the dead ends and all the two-bit bars
When the promise was broken
I was drunk and far away from home
Sleeping with a stranger in the back seat of a borrowed car
Thunder road
And when it washes away with the rain
Thunder road
You learn to walk among the remains
Thunder road
I remember when me and terry wed always say
Thunder road
We were gonna take it all
And throw it all
Away
song performed by by Bruce Springsteen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Old School Memories
I guess we all have old memories
Way back when we were in school
We tried our best to get passing grades
To prove to our folks we weren’t a fool
Remember those old-fashion desks?
There was an ink well right at the top
Some boys didn’t last too long at school
For they stayed home to pick the crops
Long walks home right after school
The stack of books made a heavy load
Kicking rocks but hurrying along
Down that dusty red dirt road
After all, there were always chores to do
Once a kid got back home
Gather the eggs and slop the hogs
Didn’t have a lot of time to roam
Yep, those were good old days, my friend
Nowadays seems school is a breeze
But it sure is fun to look behind us
To the wonderful old school memories!
poem by Marilyn Lott
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Dont Drive Drunk
He and his wife have had problems
That hes played off like nothings wrong
til he comes home from work early
Just to find the girl is gone
Oh but he gets into the cupboard
Picks out that bottle of gin
Drinks like theres no tomorrow
And decides to take a spin
No dont drive drunk
Dont drive drunk, no
Dont drive drunk
Mothers against drunk drivers are mad
Teenager at a live party
Says, give me one for the road
But hes already so inebriated
If you lit a smoke hed explode
But bartender says, I dont think so
Young one says, I can deal
Staggering out he says, check you all later
But I really dont think he will
No dont drive drunk
Dont drive drunk, no
Dont drive drunk
Mothers against drunk drivers are mad
(repeat)
(background)
Dont drive drunk
D-d-d dont drive drunk
Dont drive drunk
Hicup
(repeat)
Boy out with girl on their first date
Gets pulled over by the law
Officer says, hey cant you drive straight
Or have you been drinking alcohol?
Boy says, man are you crazy?
Cop says, hey then walk this line
But results from the breathalizer
Proves hes charged with d.u.i.
No dont drive drunk
Dont drive drunk, no
Dont drive drunk
Mothers against drunk drivers are mad
(repeat)
(background)
Dont drive drunk
D-d-d dont drive drunk
Dont drive drunk
Hicup
(repeat)
song performed by by Stevie Wonder
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Look Out Johnny
(sylvester / clarke / hicks)
Johnny was a pusher on the east side
Pushing anything to be pushed
Laid something on a guy who didn't get high
Didn't know the guy was a hood
Wheeling-dealing johnny got frightened
Thought the best place was out of town
Packed up his bags and threw them in the back
Packed up his bags and threw them in the back
Of his chevy put his foot flat down
Look out johnny there's a monkey on your back
You better beware there johnny
'cause the monkey's packin' a gat
Drivin' over red lights speeding down the freeway
Johnny johnny get away
You better beware there johnny
There's a monkey on your back
Johnny thought he'd do something clever
Turning south on the old coast road
Pushing 94 swerving leaning on the door
Trying to shake off his heavy load
Crossed the state line feeling safer
Drinking in the corner of a bar
In walked a guy looked the barman in the eye
Said "hey is johnny in here"
Chorus
You better beware there johnny
There's a monkey on your back
Be good
You better beware there johnny
There's a monkey on your back
Look out johnny 'cos the monkey's packin' a gat
Drivin' over red lights speeding down the freeway
Johnny johnny get away
You better beware there johnny
There's a monkey on your back
Look out johnny there's a monkey on your back
(repeat)
song performed by by Hollies
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Beer And Bones
I ain't nothin' but beer and bones
Honey since I lost you
I ain't ate a bite
Since the night
That you said we're through
I walked to that jukebox to play
A few sad country songs
I heard someone say
Hey that old boy
Ain't nothin' but beer and bones
I got to work this morning
Early this afternoon
Yeah my boss man nudged me
Said son I need to talk to you
You used to make me money
But lately I been taking a loss
Well he smelled my breath
Gave me what was left
Of the day off
I ain't nothin' but beer and bones
Honey since I lost you
I ain't ate a bite
Since the night
That you said we're through
I walked to that jukebox to play
A few sad country songs
I heard someone say
Hey that old boy
Ain't nothin' but beer and bones
Well I wish I could go home
And rest my weary head
But I know I'll just stay here
And have another beer instead
That little waitress asked me
Honey could you use some help
I said I thank you miss
I'll have to get through this
By my dang self
I ain't nothin' but beer and bones
Honey since I lost you
I ain't ate a bite
Since the night
That you said we're through
I walked to that jukebox to play
A few sad country songs
I heard someone say
Hey that old boy
Ain't nothin' but beer and bones
I heard someone say
Hey that old boy
Ain't nothin' but beer and bones
song performed by by John Michael Montgomery
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Promise
Johnny works in a factory and billy works downtown
Terry works in a rocknroll band
Looking for that million-dollar sound
Me I dont do nothing much,
I spend a lot of time alone
Some nights I go to the drive-in,
And some night I stay home
I followed that dream
Just like those guys do way up on the screen
Drove a chopped up challenger
Down route 9
Through the dead ends and all the bad scenes
And when the promise was broken
I cashed in a few of my dream
Well, I built that challenger by myself
But I needed money and so I sold it
I lived a secret I shouldve kept to myself
But I got drunk one night and I told it
All my life I fought that fight
The one that no man can never win
And every day it just gets harder
To live the dream Im believing in
Thunder road ...
I stay up every morning until it turns light
Thunder road ...
Theres something dying out on the highway tonight
Well now I won big once and I hit the coast,
Oh but somehow I paid the big cost
Inside I felt like I was carrying
The broken spirits of all the other ones who lost
When the promise is broken you go on living
But man it takes something from down in your soul
Like when the truth is spoken, it dont make no
Difference
Finally something in your heart turns cold
Yeah I followed that dream, me and some guysin the dead ends and all the
Two-bit bars
The night the promise was broken
I was drunk and far away from home,
Sleeping with a stranger
In the back seat of a borrowed car
Thunder road ...
Heres one for the lost lovers and all the fixed games
Thunder road ...
Heres one for the tires rushing by in the rain
Thunder road ...
I remember when me and billy, wed always say
Thunder road ...
We were gonna take it all, and throw it all away
song performed by by Bruce Springsteen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My Beautiful Reward
Well I sought gold and diamond rings
My own drug to ease the pain that living brings
Walked from the mountain to the valley floor
Searching for my beautiful reward
Searching for my beautiful reward
From a house on a hill a sacred light shines
I walk through these rooms but none of them are mine
Down empty hallways I went from door to door
Searching for my beautiful reward
Searching for my beautiful reward
Well your hair shone in the sun
I was so high I was the lucky one
Then I came crashing down like a drunk on a barroom floor
Searching for my beautiful reward
Searching for my beautiful reward
Tonight I can feel the cold wind at my back
Im flyin high over gray fields my feathers long and black
Down along the rivers silent edge I soar
Searching for my beautiful reward
Searching for my beautiful reward
song performed by by Bruce Springsteen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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For You Love Me...
my forehead has dirt
there is shit on my cheek
my arms are dusty
and my hands are getting clumsy
my feet are muddy
and my lips are cracked
i am tipsy and drunk
and with someone else
on some cheap bed
yet when i come back
you make me still feel
that sense of home
you kiss my forehead
touch my cheeks with
your kind hands
and tell me
you miss me so much
and as i am tipsy and
drunk
you offer me hot green
tea
you open the door of
the house
and let me step again
inside the room
of love
full of affection
we embrace again
nothing about history
nothing about
what i must say
because you always
tell me
that whatever happens
you will always love me
now, who wants to be
away from you?
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Do You Believe Me?
I drank a little too much,
The rum has a strong punch,
I don’t understand why,
Didn’t you say stop?
You knew I couldn’t see clearly,
With my foggy eyes.
I was so drunk I felt like I couldn’t move!
Tears poured out of my eyes,
I just wanted to go home!
There are guys all over,
Why did I put myself in this position?
I promised I’d be different!
I stumbled to the bed,
Talking to my brother on my cell phone,
Crying uncontrollably pleading him to help me,
But through the drunken fear filled speech and tears,
He doesn’t think anything’s really wrong,
I’m just too drunk, and scared to have a seizer and to die.
Hanging up the phone my heart sank.
Puking once more into the little garbage can.
Still laying there not knowing,
The guys have come in and she has locked the door,
They surround the bed with, their belts being to be undone,
One holds me down, while the other one has his way,
I am screaming for the girl, who I once called friend,
HELP PLEASE I DON’T WANT THIS! ! !
I try to fight, but I am too drunk.
They switch, it was all the first guys’ idea,
Then a third guy had his way,
Tearing me up more inside.
After that I past out,
So, I don’t know how many,
Had their fun with me.
I woke up scared and alone,
With one less friend.
And no where to call home.
But the worst thing about this is,
The one I called friend was right there,
THE WHOLE TIME and did nothing to stop it! ! !
Then when I tried to tell someone they didn’t believe me! ! !
My other friends, my mother, step father, THE COPS no one,
Even though these nightmares that won’t end,
To let my dreams begin!
They still don’t believe me!
Please tell me you believe.
poem by Mrs. Cynosure
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Beer & Bones
(sanger d. shafer/lonnie williams)
I aint nothin but beer and bones
Honey since I lost you
I aint ate a bite
Since the night
That you said were through
I walked to that jukebox to play
A few sad country songs
I heard someone say
Hey that old boy
Aint nothin but beer and bones
I got to work this morning
Early this afternoon
Yeah my boss man nudged me
Said son I need to talk to you
You used to make me money
But lately I been taking a loss
Well he smelled my breath
Gave me what was left
Of the day off
I aint nothin but beer and bones
Honey since I lost you
I aint ate a bite
Since the night
That you said were through
I walked to that jukebox to play
A few sad country songs
I heard someone say
Hey that old boy
Aint nothin but beer and bones
Well I wish I could go home
And rest my weary head
But I know Ill just stay here
And have another beer instead
That little waitress asked me
Honey could you use some help
I said I thank you miss
Ill have to get through this
By my dang self
I aint nothin but beer and bones
Honey since I lost you
I aint ate a bite
Since the night
That you said were through
I walked to that jukebox to play
A few sad country songs
I heard someone say
Hey that old boy
Aint nothin but beer and bones
I heard someone say
Hey that old boy
Aint nothin but beer and bones
song performed by by John Michael Montgomery
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Girl Called Johnny
I remember johnny - hey!
Johnny come lately
I remember her shoes like a ballerina
A girl called johnny who
Changed her name when she
Discovered her choice was to
Change or to be changed
I remember a girl called johnny
Black as hell and white as a ghost
Dont talk about life or death
She said Ive had enough of both
A girl called johnny who was not scared
Theyd have torn her to pieces but
Who would dare?
I remember a girl called johnny
The train came to town, boy she got on it
With no looking back, with not a word
If she said goodbye, well I never heard
But the noise goes on
The noise, the jazz
And the truth is in somebody elses hands
And the house that a girl called johnny built
Is now just ashes and sand
song performed by by Waterboys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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60% Proof
alcoholic drinks
are measured by their
percent proof,
For example,
a 'six proof' beer
would have 3% alcohol,
barely any,
while a strong liqueur
that advertised it was 80 proof
would have
40% alcohol.
It isn't, however, quite that simple...
there are other
complications, but that
is not my point
here,
what about poetry?
what kind of
proof is this
poetry that makes
you drunk?
or do you want
something to make
you sober?
you get high?
you want to?
ah, try putting
alcohol in your
words,
give it the
kind of proof
needed,
then say, ahh,
this is real poetry
this certain relief
from the harsh
realities of our lives,
this ahhh,
ahhhh, ahhhh
oh God!
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Drunk On Poetry
Poetry surges steadily
Through my veins
I grant it to stream through them
Day in and day out
Sleep and awake
I believe it's a healthy obsession
I get drunk on it
The more I inject in me
My mind thrives on poetry
My soul thrives on poetry
I become addicted
Sometimes I absorb too much poetry
Reading, writing and listening
I become drunk sometimes
Poetry spills from my pen
Inking a piece of paper
And unto another and another
Constantly on every thought
Humorous, emotionally, romantic, tragic
Experiencing in life
Opinionated, factual, abstract
Political, any subject that's on my thoughts
Sometimes I become drunk
The more i inject into me
Poetry I live for
Eat, drink, sleep
Racing through my spirit
Poetry, poetry, poetry
I loose myself sometimes
When I digest too much
Poems that I write
I write for me
I share them with the world
I can't resist this urge
Poetry is what I crave
It happens to be my mistress
I become drunk
The more I inject
My mind thrives on poetry
My soul thrives on poetry
I become so addicted
Breathing in too much poetry
Reading, writing, listening
I'm drunk sometimes
Poetry I write
Write from experience
What I've done
What I've heard
What I've seen
What I've felt
What I've known
Poetry I live for
Eating, drinking, sleeping
Racing through my spirit
Poetry, poetry, poetry
On my thoughts poetry
Loosing myself sometimes
When I inject enough
This is what I've become
A drunken poet
poem by R.K. Cowles
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