I sit in an AA meeting.
Tony is here because of his daddy issues.
Mary because she cuts herself.
I’m here because I drink like the leaves fall
in October. When you were mine, we drank
to forget our low paying jobs at your mother’s diner.
Where you were groped and I was called a coon.
At my place, Sam Cooke sang about Saturday nights
and iceboxes. Nothing warmed me like when you danced.
When you left, I drank because I wanted you.
Because I found your socks in my laundry.
Bob cries when he talks about the partner he lost
in May. At meeting’s end, Samantha hands out chips.
Mary accepts a green one. Tony receives the blue.
I take a twenty-four hour chip for today
and steal one for the morning.
–Art by Barbara Florczyk