Pain is an ugly thing
Wounds bleed dark
They stink if they get infected
Scars form

You would not think
Emotional pain is worse
But it lasts longer
And suffering unnoticed
Can be more humiliating
When you have no badge of honor
For others to see

It hurts me to see others suffer
Typical (or maybe not so common)
Guy that I am
I want to fix it and make it go away

So hard to listen
But that is often what you need

I can empathize with you
Not pretend I know the depths of your hurt

Tell me your story
If all I can do is listen...

I will be here for you

You may have to help me resist the temptation to give advice

Am I really
Listening to the spoken words?
Or lost in your eyes.

Broken bottles line sidewalk by the bar
Reflections of neon

Drinks poured
Spirits spilled onto hardwood floors
Loud music muted
As the ***** numbs your brain
As you hope your troubles
Will fly away to tomorrow

In the cold reality of the next day you know they didn't
They dance with your hangover

Escape from the chains of the ordinary
Is not so easy..
But be ****** if we don't
try anyway
As we reach for the next Jack Daniels
For the moment
The buzz is another Southern Comfort

Borrow bravery from the bottom of a glass
Pretend you don't know
Life is more than chasing the next piece of ***

The thrill of the chase
You hope it will erase
That feeling
You don't want to face.

Brutal
Colder than the ice cube
At the bottom of your drink
Is the truth

The lie goes down so much
Smoother
As wet as the next Guinness.

Bar room brawls
Are no real testament of manliness
Why get stupid enough
Not to realize the difference?

Down the hatches
It burns so good.
Another brain cell gives up the fight.

I sense the gathering darkness
foretelling
but I cannot discern the pattern
In the murky clouds
grey mist penetrating the earth

what are these talons frigidly clutching my skin
burning as hot coals
fiery memmories
regret and pain

my skin warm
that trembles at a touch
that bleeds when cut

electric, the sensation of hope
galvanizing my pulse
shocking me to faster breaths
heartbeat responding to the static

I can't hold back the dam
the flooding pressure of desire
steam rising form the kettle boiling...

I watch the white wisps as they rise...

Lift the glass
Raise a toast
Let's drink while we can

We can still see the moonlight
We still hear the bells
Chiming the hours
Across the fields

We still smell the freshly cut grass
Blown in the hot summer air

Nothing here stays green
When assaulted by the dry heat of summer
Emerald soon fades to rusty wheat brown
Rain is a memory
We hope will remain in our reservoirs

So take another sip
The celebration is on

Raise hell
Mock the emptiness
As long as we are sober enough
To have legs to stand on

We can prance along the stage
Shout at the wind

Let's just pretend
We can call this..
Life.

First the man takes a drink, then the drink takes a drink, finally the drink takes the man.

Dark wings hover, claws extended
Bat wings
Black lips, and dripping fangs
Clear elixir fluid
Drops
One,
Two,
Three...
On the edge of nightmare

Temperance shattered...
Moderation slit by a fine blade
The veil of normality shredded
Replaced by illusion
Civility cannot withstand
The feral urges that storm the barricades
Tin soldiers in array
Swords rattle and gleam
The sabers obsession is to draw your blood
Their  aim is to seek your quick

The beast within
Bleeds a vile and putrid green
Noxious, nauseating
Slimy...smelly
Gangrene
It comes out to howl
Prowl
Stalking prey
You are hunted
Your heart and soul are at stake
Knowing not how slender the thread
The silken cord
With which you cling
To this ephemeral life

Hope fades
Dreams ebb
The tide washes in
You are the sand
Slowly washed away
In a swirl
Eroded from the shore