Just Ice!

 

They gather for a bottled Christmas,
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

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.