15.

The whiskey burns the back of my throat
As it travels into my belly
You tell me it will only warm my insides temporarily
Before it will generously find its way into my bones

It's not my bones melting
But my brain

The constellations in the nights sky are swimming
Meanwhile, I am floating

I tell you I like this sensation
And you hand me the bottle of whiskey

(I don't remember the rest of that night.)



18.

There is a hand-held mirror with two perfectly-shaped, white lines
And a hefty stagnant silence seated between you and I

You call it medicine
But I know better
And I politely decline
Preferring the whiskey you pour over ice

You laugh
Then take a deep breath through the nose
And on a sigh say how you have missed me

That we are more alike than my naive heart can see

But you're nodding out
And I don't know if I should be scared now

The ice in my otherwise empty cup makes a sloshing sound
And my hands begin to shake

I don't know how to make you stop

(I told mom, but she didn't believe me.)



...