They gather for a bottled Christmas,
all the alcoholics ready to imbibe,
all the alcoholics ready to imbibe,
the addicts with their shiny spoons,
wearing their Amnesty International t-shirts
that say "Just Ice!" (Wait! What?
Ice cubes rattling in their empty upraised glasses,
an entire generation, demented,
but proud, like peacocks performing.
Ohhhhhhhhh.........it says 'Justice'?)
Aunt Matilda has enormous protuberances
stretching the fabric on her flowered dress,
her hair in corkscrew curls, too much lipstick,
with fake eyelashes that look like tarantulas.
Let's pass the fruitcake, which gets nuttier
every season. Strew the hollyberry about,
hide the mistletoe, and
hide the mistletoe, and
don't spare the party snacks.
Somewhere, in another life, horses dream sweetly
in snowy fields, a lark sings, a falcon flies above
in a world of peace. Mandolins play,
poetry is written and a violin begins the Adagio.
for Shay's Word List. I tried to use most of the words. This is not autobiographical, other than the fact that one Christmas I was wearing my Amnesty International t-shirt that said "Justice!" My youngest grandchild looked at me bemusedly, and asked, "Grandma, what does that mean: "Just Ice?" I thought of my long line of alcoholic relatives, and cracked up. I relayed this to Amnesty and they said, If this is a true story, it just made my day! LOL.
I am going to make a BOLD statement: I love this very funny / clever poem more than any word list poem I have read in ages.
ReplyDeleteI used to have a cartoon meme where somebody flirtatiously asks Wonder Woman what turns her on. Looking fierce, Wonder Woman replies, "Justice!"
ReplyDeleteYour real story sounds so much more fun than the fictional one.
ReplyDeleteLOL. Happy I made you smile.
ReplyDeleteFun story! That other life seems so peaceful... need more of that with a slice of nuttier fruitcake :)
ReplyDeleteThis is great....just ice! How funny and how clever you are, weaving in all those words. Merry Christmas, Sherry!
ReplyDeleteThat is a fun story "Just ice" - What did grandma tell him? I had to laugh about the fruit cake getting nuttier.
ReplyDeleteI explained about justice, in terms a six year old could understand. Still cracks me up. I could SEE all my ancestors, raising empty glasses, rattling the ice cubes to indicate they needed a fill-up.
ReplyDelete"fake eyelashes that look like tarantulas" - awesome.
ReplyDeleteI so enjoyed reading this, Sherry :-) It went from one surprising image/mood to the next from raucous and funny to peaceful and ideal. I love the whole stanza about Aunt Matilda! :-D That made me chuckle!
ReplyDeleteThe justice/just ice play is brilliant and I enjoyed the imagery here
ReplyDelete