The bottle was full
Just like their spirits
They shared as the talk grew louder
Spoke of times when drinking was sociable
That was a time ago
Now the drink was a necessity
The medicine of life
The bottle was beginning to empty now
Just like the existence they led
You could see it in their faces
As the battle for the last drink intensified
Every battle has a winner
This time he was the stronger
Gulping down the last drop as if his life depended on it
There would be many more battles like this
Ultimately, the main battle lay ahead
The final one
The freezing weather moved in slowly
Though he was totally unaware
Lying in a drunken stupor
Surrounded by empty bottles
Screaming as the battle raged inside him
Fighting for the final time
As his life slowly ebbed away
The snow covered him like a blanket
Peacefully taking him to a new place
The battle over
His thirty five year old existence finally at an end.

There I stood
About to join the back of the line
As our eyes met
You were the tiny guy
Looking quickly
From the corner of your eye
Almost like you had no right to.
I briefly made note
Of the shy glare
You threw at me
As I struggled with
A whole new warderobe
And some daring lingerie
For the hell of it.  

As I stood chatting
With the colorfull cashiere
It hit me: you're Kevin
The memories came flooding back
You and your brother
Chauffered us around
For a brief while
In the summer of 2007.
I always wondered
How someone with
A severe growth disorder
Managed to stay
So incredibly sweet.

You were always a good boy
5 years older than me
And 15cm smaller than me
Your brother always
Protected you from harm.
But now tell me...
Were you embarassed
When we played
"Pass the ice cube"
And I kissed you full on the mouth?
Understanding full well
That that was your first kiss.
I wasn't making fun of you
I merely felt that someone
With a heart like yours
Should've been kissed
A long time ago.

The stars look down
And the night becomes day
Morning people stir the day alive
And life begins its ponderous journey
Sally gives me a wink goodbye
She knows I’ll be back tonight to lose the winnings
But this time you’ll be wrong Sally girl
Though you’ve probably heard that a million times
But I’ll not be back
That’s the discipline
To simply walk away
Never look back
The morning breeze awakens the tired senses
The walk home begins a new journey
She’s walking towards me
One of the morning people
Probably walked this road a thousand times
I stop in front her
She looks bemusingly alarmed
I look like the jilted groom
I hand her a hundred pound note, and walk off
She’ll walk a bit faster now, convinced I’m nuts, and it’s a forgery
Later on, she’ll show it to her friends
They’ll tell her that’s what gamblers do
They think it’ll bring them more luck
Not with me
Winning or losing, it didn’t matter
For years the night was my friend
My savior
Then it became my nightmare
Something else to conquer
Time gets you through all
Tomorrow a new challenge begins
I become one of the morning people
It’s been a long time
Hope they’re ready for me.

The grey lady walks through the ranks, and stops
Touches the shoulder of the chosen one
And death rightly takes its place
I saw her a lot in the early years
Dutifully going about her business
It seemed like she was responsible for the deaths of thousands
Only once did she stop before me
But she just smiled before moving on
That always confused me
Was I not good enough
How did she know who to choose
I became reckless for a time
Challenging her to take me
She just smiled, before moving on
Dutifully going about her business
One day I felt it, the calling
So strong, I almost welcomed it
She walked through the ranks towards me
Stopping in front of me
I waited for her touch
She whispered in my ear
You’re one of the protected.

It’s only wrong if you get caught
It’s only right if you want it
You must obey all the rules
This is the greatest acting part in your life
Never upgrade your wardrobe
Change your scent
Use your own phone
Never mix the names up
On no account use your credit card for gifts
Always try for married women
Makes sense
Okay, I think you all know the rules now
So, off you go and have fun
But be careful out there.

Right I want you to put all your negative thoughts into a bottle.
What sort of bottle.
Doesn’t matter what sort.
***** bottle do.
Jesus, yes.
Okay I’ve ran out of room.
You’re so predictable.
Just like you last night, standards are dropping.
That’s because I knew you were coming for a session today.
Think how I feel, all my thoughts in a bottle of *****.
Maybe I should hypnotise you.
How do I know you won’t interfere with me, you read about these things.
Take my word for it, I’m going to send you to sleep, then I’m going to join you.
How does that help me if we’re both asleep, you got a bit of telepathy going on here.
Yes, I’m going to put you into a trance, see if we can find you another guy.
What sort of guy are we talking about, I mean, I’ve already hit rock bottom with you.
Well in that case, we should be able to fix you up quite quickly.
I don’t know, what if he doesn’t understand my quirky sense of humour.
He’ll dump you then.
What, can he do that, just discard me, and me a broken woman already.
Afraid so, but then you can find another guy, and another.
My God, I’ll be the talk of the town, my bottle will be overflowing.
Just relax, breathe in, breathe out, stop doing that.
Doing what.
You’re thrusting your chest out, do you know what sort of guy that’ll attract.
Someone like you.
You don’t want to attract someone like me, you want someone dynamic, someone who’ll take you away from all this.
Have you got someone in mind.
Yes, I was talking to this nice chap in the Asylum yesterday.
Why is he in the Asylum.
He killed a snail.
My God, they put you in the Asylum for that.
No, he’s in for using a flamethrower.
What’s the snail got to do with it.
That was the trigger point.
So what happens if I upset him and it triggers something and he goes mad.
It won’t, I told him to put all his negative thoughts into your bottle.

It's calm here
A city with the attitude of a town
"Save the poor"
The words are spelled out
On a building behind the church
There are a few here
Churches that is
In close proximity of each other

I sat at the bus stop
After work
Quietly de-working
De-toxing from your temper
And the threat you oppose
To our professional integrety
Every day you are here.
I snort at the though of you
You're just like my dad.

A man sat by my side
Carefully placed
His beer can on the ground
"Can you read this to me?"
He said as he handed me a letter
I opened it and scanned it briefly
"They're giving you money sir"
"Why?"
"You applied for it and they approved"

You smell just like my dad
Speaking of how my boss reminds me
Alcohol and cigarettes
A boy stares at me in the distance
too young
"Why would they give me money"
"It seems Sir, that you applied for it"

He shruds his shoulders
I get that your memory fails you
With all the *****
That circles in your system.
I don't judge you old man.
You're just a version of my old man.
I get it, life's hard
Wonder what it threw at you
Before you got this way.

Once upon a time
You were just like that boy
Who curiously glues his eyes on me
Just a normal boy.
Just like my dad.
Wonder what will become
Of this young kid
Fingers crossed he'll turn out good
Fingers crossed
*fingers crossed